Chuck vs The Dark Intersect
by BillAtWork
Summary: Now that Chuck and Sarah have a daughter, life changes. But when an old threat resurfaces, what will they do to protect their family? How will it change them? Follows Chuck vs The Sexy Handler. Please check each chapter for content warnings.
1. Hello Baby Kate

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_This story follows in the universe created by Chuck vs The Negotiation and continued by Chuck vs Taking One For the Team and Chuck vs The Sexy Handler. If you haven't read those stories, this isn't going to make much sense. I would recap them here – but that would just be rewarding laziness now, wouldn't it? Anyway, this is the story of Chuck and Sarah facing their worst fear. What happens when Chuck is forced to embrace the intersect? Can he remain the same guy that Sarah (and all of us) loves?_

_Just up front – I will never, ever write a story that doesn't have a happy ending. Mostly because I don't want to read stories like that. So I'm sorry if that ruins this for anyone. But just keep this in mind. When this gets tense (and it will), when it gets dark (and it will), when it looks like all hope is lost – things are not always as they seem._

_Just a fair warning. There will be a substantial character(s) death. Who? I'm not saying, lol. Just like on the show, nobody is safe._

_As always, thanks to my good friends Happydayz and Brickroad. Not only for teaching me stuff like good grammar, but for keeping me honest with the characters. I appreciate all of your help more than you'll ever know._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Hello Baby Kate**

- - - -

It had instantly become the highlight of Chuck's day. Oh, he knew full well that the nurse that had taught the infant parenting class meant it as a shot. Her implication was fairly clear. The dad got off far too easy in this having-a-baby deal. And taking the early morning feeding was the least that the lazy bastard could do. Okay, so she didn't actually say 'lazy bastard' out loud. But that's certainly what her eyes and body language were saying. But the joke was on her. Not only was Chuck willing to take the early feeding – he was looking forward to the opportunity to have his own alone time with his new daughter.

There was one thing that Chuck had to admit he had not anticipated. And that was the overwhelming sense of responsibility that hit him every time he looked at Kate. After all, Chuck was a pretty responsible guy. He was the intersect for goodness sake. But that responsibility was nothing like he felt now. Baby Kate was, well she was perfect. But she now depended on him totally. And he was never – never going to let her down.

To be sure, the first couple of weeks after bringing her home were awkward. Actually, awkward didn't begin to describe it. They were hell – pure terror filled hell. Sarah was always exhausted. And worse, sometimes Kate would cry – and they would just look at each other. Neither really knowing what to do. After all, she was changed and fed and burped and – well, all of the obvious things – and yet she was crying.

That really bothered Sarah. More than bothered her, it drove her crazy. After all, she was perfect at everything. She expected to be a perfect mom. And what kind of mom would let her baby cry without fixing it? Chuck really wasn't sure which was worse – listening to Kate cry. Or listening to Sarah being frustrated. And actually, he knew which was worse. A frustrated Sarah was not much fun – at all. Especially with the hormones working on her. Sometimes she would cry. But mostly she just got angry. And since she really couldn't get angry at Kate, guess who took the brunt? Chuck knew that she was just venting. She really didn't mean the things she was saying. It still made for some very long days. But little by little they worked through it. Every day got a little easier. And eventually, they even settled into somewhat of a routine. It was funny, the more relaxed Sarah became, the less Kate cried… and the more relaxed Sarah became.

It was now even getting to the point where Elise would actually venture out of her room. Poor girl – she spent six weeks trapped inside of that room. At least Casey and Janice could just stay away. After all, they were still in the honeymoon period of their new relationship. And their friskiness still grated on Chuck's last nerve. Six weeks? He was sure that the nurse was kidding. Six weeks without sex? That couldn't be right – could it? And Casey and Janice obviously took great pains to make sure that Chuck knew what he was missing. After all, revenge was – well, it was fun.

But that was over. Chuck looked at his watch. Fortunately, those six weeks were up twenty-two minutes ago – not that he was counting. So he smiled at his daughter who was softly sucking on her bottle. "Happy birthday, baby Kate," he whispered. "But it's your daddy who is getting the present." It was also time to turn the tables on Casey and Janice. If they were uncomfortable with how icky Chuck and Sarah were before – they should get ready. _They haven't seen anything yet_.

- - - -

Adam Colson had just finished the most exciting seven months of his life. Okay, so it was a little freaky being the only survivor of the intersect attack. On the other hand it turned out to be a life changing experience. This intersect thing was a godsend. Oh, it took a little getting used to. But once he had mastered it, it was like having super powers. No matter what scrape he got himself into, the solution simply flashed into his brain. If he was surrounded by cops, simply kung fu your way out of it. Locked in a room? Simply pick the lock using the schematics that popped into your brain.

Money was surely no longer a problem. Whenever he needed some, all he had to do was flash on a secret bank account. Those rich oil sheiks would never miss a few hundred thousand dollars. It allowed him to live like a king.

And the women. Sweet lord, the women. Adam had always been decent with the ladies. After all, he had the benefit of the seduction training like all field agents. But now it was like he had mind control powers. Hell, maybe he did. Because when he looked into their eyes they were simply defenseless. He always seemed to know exactly what to say and how to act. It was getting to the point where he started making a game of picking out the most challenging woman in the bar and seeing how quickly and how far he could get her to go. Lately, that meant picking an obviously married woman and taking her away from her husband. And one of the best things about the intersect was he no longer had a conscience. So that meant, if on the odd occasion the foolish girl decided that she wasn't willing, Adam wasn't above taking what he wanted. After all, what right did a mere mortal have to refuse a god anything that he would ask? It never took much 'convincing' for them to come to that same conclusion.

It was so great that, for a while, Adam almost forgot about getting revenge. After all, whoever had done this had given him a great gift. But as time passed the burning desire slowly returned. There was a principle involved here. He had been attacked. Not that he cared that much for Fulcrum. He didn't. But whoever did this was trying to kill -- him. It was personal. And that simply couldn't go unpunished. No, he needed revenge. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out who had done this, find the people that they loved, and make them pay. He decided to make it a game. Hell, it would be fun. And there was no reason not to. There was absolutely zero risk.

After all, he was now a god… And the gods were angry.

- - - -

Chuck had a fairly static routine established with Kate in that early morning feeding. While he was waiting for her bottle to heat up he would change her. He always took the time to look at her fingers and toes. Which was becoming a little silly -- there were always ten of each. After all, it was highly unlikely that a finger had fallen off in the night. But one could never be too careful. And they were perfect. Chuck was always amazed at how perfectly detailed they were. Kate's little fingers were so adorable – right down to her perfect tiny fingernails. Then while she was taking her bottle he would softly tell her a story.

Every night Chuck would pick up the story at the point they had left it the previous night. He had already gotten past the point of falling in love with Sarah and their war with Fulcrum. And naturally, he had to skip most of the scary parts. He certainly wouldn't want to give her bad dreams.

Chuck smiled as he watched his daughter contentedly taking her bottle. "Let's see," he said softly. "Where did we leave off last night? Oh yeah, your Uncle Casey and Aunt Janice. Well, Kate, sometimes being in love takes some work. Their relationship is really not that much older than you are. And neither one of them had ever lived with anybody before. They were both used to doing their own thing. And just like when we brought you home from the hospital, we didn't know what we were doing at first. Well, they had some growing pains of their own…"

- - - -

_To call Janice and Casey a match made in heaven didn't quite fit. For one thing, they were too much alike. They say that opposites attract. Well, they weren't opposites. In fact they were the opposite of opposites. And since neither one was good at expressing feelings, little things grew more and more annoying. It was getting to the point where, outside of the bedroom, they didn't talk at all. And sex, even mind blowing sex, could only carry you so far._

_There was one saving grace -- living next door to Devon and Ellie had really done wonders. Ellie and Janice had grown very close. So close, that if Sarah was totally honest, she would admit to being a little jealous._

_Ellie couldn't help but smile. Janice looked so perplexed. "Are things getting better?" Ellie asked. Even though she could tell by the look on Janice's face that they weren't. So it was a good thing that Ellie was taking her out for a drink. It really looked like she could use one. And, truth be told, Ellie was looking forward to hearing Janice's seduction stories. So, it looked to be a good night for them both. Janice could get out of the house for a while. And Ellie could finally find out what she'd been wondering about._

_Janice pounded the steering wheel in frustration. "I don't know," Janice said with a sigh. "I love him, Ellie. I mean I do. And I know that he loves me. But sometimes I just want to shoot him."_

"_That's all men," Ellie laughed. "I want to shoot Devon sometimes."_

"_No," Janice said. "I'm not being figurative. I mean I want to take out my gun, point it at him, and pull the trigger. Maybe not kill him. Maybe just clip him in the leg or something. He's such a neat freak. And I'm… well I'm not. If he cleans up my makeup stuff in the bathroom one more time…"_

"_You have to talk to him," Ellie said. "You have to let him know that you're not happy."_

"_How can I do that?" Janice asked. "That would crush him. He would take that as I have doubts. I want to shoot him – not hurt him."_

"_Don't you have doubts?" Ellie asked._

_For the first time, a smile came to Janice's face. "I know that it sounds like it," she said. "But I really don't. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him. I love him. I can't live without him. But, Ellie, sometimes…"_

_Ellie just grinned. "It doesn't sound like you can live with him," she said._

"_I know," Janice sighed. "So that just leaves shooting him."_

- - - -

_One side benefit of Janice and Ellie getting close was that it took most of the strain off of Casey and Devon. True, they weren't quite to the point of being close friends. They simply didn't have that much in common -- yet. But now that Janice was around, Devon no longer had to fear any possible romance between Ellie and Casey. Okay, so that was always silly. But it was there. So removing any doubt made a huge difference._

_One thing that they found that they did have in common was baseball. They both actually enjoyed sitting and watching a baseball game while drinking a beer. And truth be told, it usually ended up being more than one beer._

"_Tell me, John," Devon said. "It must be a lot of fun being a spy."_

_Casey turned is head to look at Devon in amazement. "Why would you say that?" he asked. "It is mostly nasty, dangerous work."_

_Devon just laughed. "But it must be fun to spy on someone," he said. "Knowing what they're doing without them being aware."_

"_It can be," Casey admitted._

"_This game is boring," Devon said. "Why don't you give me a demonstration?"_

_Casey frowned as he stared back at him. "This is not a game, Devon," he said quickly._

"_I know," Devon said just as quickly. "I'm not talking about anything real. How about we just find the girls and spy on them? I'm sure they won't mind. And it would be a good demonstration. If we get caught, no biggie. I'll buy you a scotch."_

_Casey had to admit – it might be fun to show Devon his skills. And he always wanted to know what Ellie and Janice were talking about. So he smiled. "Okay, Devon," he said. "You win. Let me grab my equipment."_

- - - -

Chuck looked down at baby Kate. Either the story had soothed her or it had bored her. Whichever it was, she was fast asleep. "Well, Kate – that didn't turn out too well for them," Chuck whispered to his sleeping daughter as he gently kissed the top of her head. "They found out some stuff that they probably wished they hadn't. But, don't worry about them. They all worked it out -- eventually. I'll tell you how tomorrow. That reminds me. If Aunt Janice ever wants to talk to you about boys – come and get me."

So Chuck, rather reluctantly, put her in her crib. Then he stood and watched her sleep for a few minutes. Chuck didn't have much experience with babies, but he could already tell – Kate was going to look like her mother. And that meant trouble. How to keep the boys away? Especially with Janice, and now Elise, egging her on. But that was tomorrow's problem. So he sighed and climbed back into bed. But as soon as he snuggled into Sarah, she surprised him. She turned around to face him.

"How was she?" Sarah asked. "Was she fussy?"

Chuck was stunned. There was no hint of sleep in Sarah's voice. And that in itself was unusual. "She was perfect," he said. "She is such a sweetheart. She is really starting to look like you."

"Do you know what today is?" Sarah asked.

"Of course," Chuck said as he bit his lip to keep from laughing. "It's Thursday."

Well, that was clearly the wrong thing to say. "It's Thursday?" she repeated. She rolled over and faced away from Chuck.

Chuck could tell by the hurt in her voice that something was wrong. So he rolled over and spooned into her. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Sarah had to wait for a moment to compose her voice. "I've been so horrible to you," she finally said. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do. And I don't handle that feeling very well. I've been frustrated and bitchy. And I've taken it out on you. I'm so sorry. I know that I've probably driven you away -- but I never thought that you would forget…"

Chuck squeezed her tightly. "Sarah," he said. "I haven't forgotten. I was just teasing you. I know what today is. I've been counting the minutes. It's Thursday. Six weeks and one day after…"

Sarah's initial reaction was anger. But that quickly faded as she breathed a sigh of relief. He was going to pay for teasing her – but right now she was far too relieved to be anything but happy. She could feel the tenseness leave her. "The longest dry spell in our history," she finished his sentence.

"Not counting the first two years," Chuck said as he kissed her neck. "Are you sure that you're ready for this?"

Sarah rolled over to face Chuck again. "You're joking, right?" she asked. "I've been counting the minutes too. You're forty-five minutes late."

"Well," Chuck said with a grin. "I'm sorry I was late. I was feeding Kate. But in my defense, in the labor room you said that I was never going to touch you again. I believe the phrase 'cutting it off' was used.

That had them both laughing openly. It was a moment that they hadn't shared in a long time. They just held each other and laughed. It felt so great. After a long moment, Sarah touched her lips to his. Naturally, the kiss quickly intensified.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah said as soon as the kiss broke. "Lately I've given all my affection to Kate. And all I've left for you was my anger and guilt. I've been so awful to you. Please understand how much I need you. How much I've missed you. How very much I love you."

"Sarah," Chuck said. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I understand that having our first baby is a challenge. I think it is for anybody. It's going to get easier. I'm really proud of you. You're doing so great. And I've never, not for one second, questioned if you love me. I love you too."

"I know," Sarah said. "Hopefully the worst is over. I'm sorry that I said that in the labor room." Just before their lips touched again, she whispered, "And for the record, I've changed my mind."

- - - -


	2. Goodbye Ben

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Just a fair warning. There will be a character death in this chapter. Not the big one. Not one who anybody is going to cry over. Not yet. But still._

_I want to respond to some reviews. Don't worry. We're going to get the labor room scene. We can't miss that. Sarah Walker – ops, Sarah Bartowski in labor… with knives hidden all over her body? How would you like to be the doctor who is checking to see how far she is dilated, lol?_

_As always, thanks to my good friends Happydayz and Brickroad. Not only for teaching me stuff like good grammar, but for keeping me honest with the characters. I appreciate all of your help more than you'll ever know._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Goodbye Ben**

_

* * *

_

Damn Sarah Walker to hell. Ben Adams was just becoming accustomed to life as a civilian. And he was forced into a simple conclusion. _It sucks_. Oh, he got a nice cushy job. His political connections guaranteed that. But no matter how cushy the job was, they actually expected you to come to the office and spend eight hours there. And he was very used to living in the same building. He had blocked from his mind just how bad traffic inside the beltway really was. But it only took a few days of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic to remind him.

The other big problem was that they expected you to do some work. They even set deadlines and actually expected you to meet them. And Adams certainly wasn't used to that. Most of his positions over the past several years were purely social. After all, a foreign attaché didn't really have any official duties. He was just expected to maintain a friendly relationship with the head of state. And use that relationship to be able to represent the country's interests. Private political consultants were actually expected to write reports. Long, mind numbingly boring reports.

But the real problem was the women. Adams had grown completely accustomed to the CIA being his personal harem. But, then again, who wouldn't enjoy having a score of the world's most beautiful women fighting over which one would earn the right to go home with you that night? Unfortunately, that was over. Now, Adams was just another guy. Another average looking, not particularly witty guy. That meant that he had to work hard to score with the ladies. And, truth be told, he wasn't all that good at it. So now, when he was lucky enough to get – well, lucky, it changed his perspective. Adams suddenly found himself being the one who wanted more than a one night stand. And having a repeat date with Kim tonight was something that he was really looking forward to.

So Adams was very happy when be finally made it through the traffic and pulled into his driveway. He threw his keys on the table and immediately went to the bedroom to begin getting ready for his date.

"Are you Ben Adams?" a voice came from the darkness.

"Who's there?" Adams cried out in shock. When he turned on the light, he saw a tall man standing there holding a handgun.

"Are you Ben Adams?" the man repeated.

"Yes," Adams answered cautiously. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Adam Colson," the man said. "You're actually quite famous. After all, you were the Under Secretary of Defense. There are all sorts of things that you must know. I'd like you to answer some questions for me."

"Go to hell," Adams said. "I'm not telling you anything. I'm late for a date."

Colson simply smiled. He then threw a roundhouse kick that landed flush on Adam's jaw, knocking him instantly unconscious. "Oh Ben," he said. "Sorry about the date. But that was the wrong answer."

* * *

Sarah had quickly gotten to the point of not needing Kate's crying to wake her up. After all, pretty much every morning at six-thirty Kate was wanting to be fed. So Sarah was already awake, just listening for the first cry.

Sarah smiled as she watched Chuck softly snoring. Last night had been a godsend. It was actually something that she was yearning for and dreading at the same time. Sarah was positive that he wouldn't be nearly as attracted to her. After all, she hadn't been the hot blonde that he married in several months. And she had just spent the last six weeks taking out every frustration in the world on him. How could it possibly be the same?

But last night, Chuck popped that rather silly concern like a soap bubble. To be sure, he was far more gentle than usual. But he sensed her vulnerability – like he always did and made sure that it was all about her. Now she felt guilty, and frankly, more than a little silly. How could she possibly have doubted him? It was everything that Sarah needed – and more. After all, who knew more about her than Chuck? And, wow, had he come through.

Sarah was just on the verge of waking him up and thanking him properly, when she heard the first faint sounds of Kate fussing on the nursery monitor. So Sarah settled for kissing his check gently as he slept. "I've really missed you," she whispered. But Kate was calling. Oh well, she could always thank him later. Sarah sighed as she turned down the monitor so that he could sleep and got out of bed.

"Mommy's coming, sweetie."

* * *

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, ma'am"

It was the last thing that the Major who stood at attention in front of Beckman's desk wanted to say. After all, she was famous for not taking bad news well. And she was not above shooting the messenger.

"Well," Beckman snapped. "Let's have it."

"Yes, ma'am," the Major replied. "I'm afraid that we just discovered former Undersecretary Adams's body."

"His body?" Beckman questioned. "He's dead? How did he die?"

"He was tortured to death, ma'am," the Major said grimly as he held up a disc. "There was a video that we found along with the body."

"Let's see it," Beckman said.

"Ma'am," The Major replied, obviously shaken. "I'm afraid it's very gruesome."

* * *

Sarah was grateful that Chuck was willing to take the early morning feeding. She really was. She just wished that he would remember to turn off the nursery monitor before he left. And about a third of the time he would forget. And that meant that Sarah could hear every sound. Most people would be able to sleep through it. But Sarah wasn't most people.

Part of agent training was to condition you to be a light sleeper. Instructors regularly tried to sneak up on you in the middle of the night. And if they could get to you before you said the proper code word, you earned the right to take an early morning five mile run – in whatever you were wearing at the time. Not only did it train you to be a light sleeper – it taught you to be careful what you wore to bed. There were always a few guys hanging out early in the morning hoping to catch a glimpse of a rookie agent going on her 'run' while wearing some skimpy negligee.

Naturally, Sarah could have gotten out of bed and turned down the monitor herself. But there were a couple of reasons why she didn't. First, it felt entirely too good to lie there. She couldn't bring herself to take that warm blanket off and walk across the cold room.

But even more importantly, she loved listening to the stories that Chuck was telling Kate. He was so cute. It was almost worth being wakened at three in the morning – almost.

* * *

Chuck smiled at his daughter as she sucked on her bottle. One thing was for sure, she didn't struggle with a weak appetite. When it was feeding time, Kate let you know.

"Let's see," Chuck said softly. "Where were we? Oh yeah, the spy thing. Before I start, I just want to take a minute and tell you how amazing your mom is. I know that you already think that she's amazing because she feeds you and changes you and gives you your baths. And she is. She's really great at all of those things. But the truth is, Kate, she is a real hero. She's saved so many lives that I've lost count. She's sort of like Superwoman – except that she's real. And the truth is; she could be doing a lot of exciting things right now. She could be in Rome meeting with big shots working to catch bad guys. Or protecting the president like she used to do. Or she could be in a big castle dining on lobster or on vacation with a handsome prince in Monaco and drinking champagne."

At the mention of the handsome prince, Chuck had to pause for a second. "But instead of all those fun things, she wants to stay here and take care of us," he finally continued. "And for just one reason. She loves us. And that makes you and me the luckiest two people in the whole world. So, baby Kate, whenever you're feeling sorry for yourself, remember one thing. You have the most special mommy in the whole world. And here's a little secret that you can't tell anybody."

"She can totally kick the butt of all of your friend's mommies."

* * *

For once, Sarah was glad that Chuck wasn't in bed with her. It meant that she didn't have to try and hide the tears that were now filling her eyes. And, on balance, he was right.

It was true. She could be in Rome. It was such an amazing city. And she did have a standing offer to join the Rome office anytime she wanted. It was probably due to that time when she saved the ambassador's life. The Secret Service had inquired several times about her availability to return to Washington. And she honestly had her choice of more than one prince who would love to take her on a vacation in Monaco.

But thank God that she wasn't. Because Sarah dreaded even the thought of going back to that empty – well, it was hard to even call it a life. It was more like an existence. The president that she protected with her life didn't even know her name. There wasn't a single person in Rome who cared about her. And that prince in Monaco might be smooth, rich, and handsome – but he was just playing a game to see how fast he could get her naked. Once he did, he would have quickly lost interest.

No, she was in the only place that she ever wanted to be. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming to be truly loved. Her life now had meaning. And sometimes, she really didn't know how to react. After all, she hadn't received any CIA training on this subject. There was no manual to look in for advice. Even Google wasn't much help. So there was only one thing she could do -- try and love Chuck and now Kate as much as they loved her. She knew that wasn't nearly enough. But that's all she had. And the truly amazing thing – was that is all they expected.

Wow, did it feel great.

* * *

General Beckman had seen some pretty gruesome things in her time. But watching that video was starting to turn her stomach. Ben Adams was in the background. Even though he was gagged, his moaning could be clearly heard. He was obviously bleeding to death. There are several spots on his body that were missing pieces. His eyes darted around the room in fear. In the foreground was a man.

_"Whoever is watching this," the man said. "My name is Adam Colson. And I guess you could say that I'm not very happy. Some people tried to kill me a few months ago. They missed, but still they get an A for effort."_

It was at this point when Ben Adams apparently lost consciousness.

_"You need to understand something," Colson continued. "I allowed Mr. Adams here to die quickly because he was so kind to tell me some names. Bryce Larkin, Sarah Walker, Janice Beckman, John Casey – if you're watching this, I'm coming for you. And since you were all in the Intersect, I know everything about you. Walker and Beckman – not bad, not bad at all. Maybe we can get to know each other a little better before – well, before you take your nap. But be sure, you are all going to pay with your lives. I was merciful to Mr. Adams here but you can expect no such mercy. Whoever finds this, make sure that they know. I'm coming after them. And the real good news is, now that I've mastered the Intersect, I can't possibly be stopped. After all, how can mere mortals stop a god?"_

"_It's just a matter of time."_

"Oh my God," Beckman whispered as the video ended. "Is that man…"

"Yes, ma'am," the Major said sadly. "Adam Colson was on the list. He was scheduled to upload the intersect in Boston. We never recovered his body. It's clear that he is now an intersect with 2.0 capabilities."

Beckman was obviously stunned. "We need to let the team know," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," the Major replied. "Do you want me to set something up?"

"No," Beckman said. "Not yet. Assemble senior staff. Let's try and figure out what we're dealing with."

* * *

Chuck let baby Kate take about half of her bottle. Then he put her on his shoulder and gently rubbed her back trying to get the burp up that she needed.

"Okay," Chuck said as she snuggled his head close to Kate's. "Let's continue with the story. It seems that Aunt Ellie was curious about how spies work. So she asked Aunt Janice to explain it to her. I don't want you to think that Aunt Janice is a bad person, Kate. She's not. Actually, she's pretty amazing. She is almost as big of a hero as your mommy is. It's just that sometime she doesn't realize how people who aren't spies think. She was just trying to impress Aunt Ellie. She really wasn't trying to get her into trouble with Uncle Devon. She just wasn't used to people getting jealous. She didn't have any friends that weren't spies. And, to tell the truth, she had a little bad luck..."

_

* * *

_

_Since Janice didn't know the area very well, she let Ellie pick the place for their drink. And Ellie had made a good selection. The bar was lively and hopping. But it wasn't so loud and boisterous that you couldn't have a conversation. They found a table in the corner and ordered a drink._

_As soon as the drinks arrived, Janice could tell by the look on Ellie's face that something was up. "What?" she said with a grin. "You look like the cat that just swallowed the canary."_

_Ellie couldn't keep the grin off her face. "You owe me a story," she said._

_Janice couldn't help but laugh. "Okay," she said. "Ellie, you need to understand -- there are some things I can't talk about. But I'll try and tell you what you want to know."_

"_I don't want you to tell me any secrets," Ellie said. "And I understand about picking guys up. But what you do is different."_

_Janice looked at Ellie. "You're really obsessed with this, aren't you?"_

_Even in the darkened bar, the blush that was traveling up Ellie's neck was plain. "Okay," she said. "I'll admit it. I'm dying to know how do you get men to want you so much that they will do anything that you say? And how does that make you feel?"_

"_I'll answer the second question first," Janice said. "I'm not going to lie to you. It can be a rush. Seeing these strong, powerful men melt. Knowing that they desire you so much that they'll do anything is pretty exciting. It can definitely turn me on. I remember one time…"_

* * *

Chuck took Kate off his shoulder and placed her back in the crook of his arm. Then he offered her the rest of the bottle, which she greedily accepted. "Actually, Kate," he said. "I think maybe we'll skip that particular part of the story. Remind mommy in about twenty years and maybe she'll tell you about it. For now, let's just say that Aunt Janice decided to give Aunt Ellie a little demonstration of her… umm… her skills. She picked a guy at the bar that was alone. She knew that she could always use Aunt Ellie as an excuse if things got out of hand. What she didn't know was that Uncle Casey and Devon were playing a game to see if they could listen in on their conversation without them finding out. And, wouldn't you know it? That is exactly the time that they showed up."

But Chuck didn't get to tell little Kate the rest of the story right away. Because out of the darkness Sarah came and sat down beside him on the glider - love seat that they had set up in Kate's room.

"Why are you awake?" Chuck questioned. Then it hit him and he answered his own question. "I forgot to turn off the monitor again, didn't I? Sarah, I'm so sorry. I was just…"

Chuck never got a chance to finish his apology. Because Sarah grabbed his head and quickly pushed her mouth against his. Since Chuck was holding Kate with one arm – and holding her bottle in place with the other, he really had no choice but to participate in the lengthy kiss. Especially since Sarah had, as was her custom, grabbed two handfuls of his hair to keep him in place.

"Umm, Sarah," Chuck whispered as soon as Sarah let him up for air. "Kate is watching us."

Sarah smiled at Chuck's discomfort. _He is so incredibly cute_. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "Her eyes are closed. Anyway, she'd better get used to me kissing you. She's going to see it a lot. That was for saving me from being stuck in Rome with nobody to love me. Or fending off some prince who wants me as his latest conquest.

"I'm sorry that you heard that," Chuck said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just wanted her to know…"

"Why would you be sorry?" Sarah asked. "You didn't embarrass me. It's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. I hope that you don't mind me being here. I know that this is your time with Kate."

Chuck didn't say anything for a long moment. "Do you know how silly that question was?" he finally asked. "I live for you being here."

Sarah glanced at Kate, more than a little wistfully. She looked so peaceful. "She never cries when you hold her," Sarah whispered.

Chuck knew that this was a sensitive area for Sarah. She took it personally when Kate would cry. So the last thing he wanted was to rub that in. "She's really relaxed," he finally said. "Would you like to hold her for a while?"

"No," Sarah said. "This is your time. I'd just like to sit here and hold you while you're holding her. Would that be okay?"

Chuck smiled and nodded. "You're on a roll with the silly questions tonight."

Sarah sighed as she wrapped her free arm around Chuck and snuggled into his shoulder. "Besides, I have to make sure that you're telling her the story properly."


	3. Hurts So Good

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Janice gets Ellie into trouble. With Devon. With Chuck and Sarah. And with the mob. Bad Janice._

_As always, thanks to my good friends Happydayz and Brickroad. Not only for teaching me stuff like good grammar, but for keeping me honest with the characters. I appreciate all of your help more than you'll ever know._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Hurts So Good**

* * *

Chuck smiled as her felt Sarah's head resting softly against his shoulder. So he decided why not have a little fun? "Okay, Kate," he said. "Before we start back on the story, I just want to make sure that you know. Your mommy got really angry at Aunt Janice for a while."

Even though Sarah knew right away that Chuck was teasing her, she couldn't help the anger as she remembered that night. "Angry doesn't begin to describe it," she bristled. "What was Janice thinking? She almost ruined her relationship with Casey and Ellie's with Devon. I was ready to kick her…"

"But she got over it," Chuck quickly interrupted with a laugh. "Your mommy is very forgiving."

"Whatever," Sarah whispered under her breath.

"So, Kate," Chuck began, ignoring Sarah's comment. "Aunt Janice was trying to impress…"

_

* * *

_

"It's really pretty easy," Janice said. "Once a man thinks that he has a chance to get into your pants, he'll do almost anything you want. You can string him along for a long time. It's only hard when you don't want to actually put out. That's what Sarah does. I'm not bound by that. I really don't mind putting out. Most of the time anyway."

"_But, Janice," Ellie protested. "I'm not talking about picking a guy up and taking him home. I could do that. How do you control them?"_

_"It isn't like picking a guy up at all," Janice said. "That usually means letting him pursue you. When you are working a mark, you're playing to his fantasy. You figure out what his dream girl is and become her. The secret is to let them think that they are in control. But they really aren't. You're leading them."_

"_But how do you do that?" Ellie asked._

"_It really depends on the guy," Janice quickly said. "But you flatter them. Act like you're totally smitten. With most guys that means appearing vulnerable in some way. Sometimes acting bashful will do it. Or maybe sad and tearful… oh, and act stupid."_

_Janice laughed at Ellie's look of bewilderment. "I know," she said. "It sounds silly. But men love to be flattered. And they love to feel smarter than you."_

"_You're making it sound easy," Ellie said. "There must be more to it than that."_

"_There is," Janice quickly replied. "There are some rules that you just can't break."_

"_Rules?"_

"_First," Janice said. "You can never let yourself like the guy. That's usually not a problem because they're typically pretty creepy. But sometimes there's a smooth, cute guy that you could actually see yourself with. Those are the hardest. You have to keep telling yourself that he's a mark. Otherwise, you'll start to feel sorry for him. And you can never feel sorry for him."_

"_Sounds cold."_

"_You have to be cold," Janice said. "Trust me. They're cold. They are after one thing from you. And that's the second rule. You can never, ever break your cover. Once these guys realize that you're playing them, their violent streak comes out."_

_Ellie reached over and grabbed Janice's hand. "Is that what happened to you in Bogotá?"_

_Janice took a deep breath. "Yes," she whispered. "It was…"_

"_You don't have to tell me," Ellie quickly interrupted. "I don't know any details. I just know that something really bad happened to you there that messed you up for a while."_

_Janice just looked at Ellie for a long moment. "Eight men," she finally said. "They took turns for thirty-six hours. I was in the hospital for over a month."_

_Ellie squeezed Janice's hand. "That's the worst story I've ever heard," she said. "How did you get over it?"_

_For the first time, Janice smiled. "It took a long time," she said. "I was messed up for quite a while. But eventually, I met your brother. And that led me to meet Casey… and you."_

_Ellie smiled back. "I'm glad," she said. "I'm glad that we can be friends."_

_"Me too," Janice said. "So the lesson here is -- if you're going to play a role, you have to play it to the very end. And sometimes that means giving in. When that time comes, you have to be willing. Every spy who has spent any time using seduction techniques has had to give in at times."_

_"Even Sarah?" Ellie gasped._

_"Yes, Ellie," Janice said with a smile. "Even Sarah. Now with Sarah it would be a last resort. With me, I'd just as soon get it over with."_

"_It still sounds dangerous," Ellie said._

"_Not if you know what you're doing," Janice said. "I'll show you. See that guy at the bar?"_

"_Janice," Ellie exclaimed. "What are you going to do? What about Casey?"_

_Janice grinned at Ellie's discomfort. "Don't worry," she said. "Casey understands what agents do. I'm not going to sleep with him. I'm just going to get him to spill his guts."_

"_Casey understands?" Ellie asked. "Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, I'm sure," Janice said. "The only way to do this is to play a role. This isn't going to be Janice. It's going to be Agent Beckman. And let's face it, Ellie. This is the part that you really want to hear about anyway."_

_Ellie didn't answer. But the blush in her neck said everything._

_"Come on, Ellie," Janice continued. "That's the turn on. You get to play a role with zero guilt. After all, it's your job. It's not you. Tell me you haven't thought about what it would be like to stop being prim and proper Dr. Bartowski for a night and just let yourself go with some guy that you're never going to see again. To try the fantasies that are buried deep in your mind – the things that you would never dare mention to Devon. The things that you'd be embarrassed to say out loud. To become another person. A super sexy temptress. Come on, Ellie – admit it."_

_Now the blush in Ellie's neck had traveled to the very roots of her hair. She didn't speak. She just nodded her head slightly._

_Janice noted Ellie's discomfort with a fair amount of amusement. "It can be the hottest feeling in the world," Janice continued. "Since it's not you, there is no reason to have any inhibition. You can act in ways that you never, ever normally would. You can put on a show and watch him burn. You can control him in any way that you choose – even as he thinks that he is controlling you. And then, when you're ready, you can take him to bed and scre…"_

* * *

Chuck looked down at baby Kate and smiled… or was it winced? Actually, it was about half way between. "Umm," he said. "I think maybe we'd better skip ahead in the story a little."

Sarah lifted her head from Chuck shoulder and grinned. "I wondered how long you were going to let that go," she teased. "I thought that you wanted to keep Janice's activities secret from Kate for as long as possible."

"Why didn't you stop me?" Chuck asked. "You know that I get in a zone when I'm telling a story."

Sarah put her head back down and snuggled into Chuck's shoulder again. "You were just so cute," she said with a yawn. "You were on a roll." Then she leaned in to whisper in Chuck's ear, "Besides, you were turning me on."

Chuck quickly turned to see the sly smirk on Sarah's face. "Okay," he said as the blush traveled up his neck. "We'd better get back to the story. Things didn't work out for Aunt Janice. The man that she picked to be her mark that night was a bad choice. He wasn't really alone. He was also not a very nice man. And his friend, who was even meaner, took a serious liking to Aunt Ellie. Pretty soon, both men were at their table. And that's when it really began to go south. You see, Kate – it was right about then that Uncle Casey and Uncle Devon showed up. And boy did they get a surprise…"

_

* * *

_

Casey directed Devon to pull up next to Janice's car. The parking spot right next to it was empty so Devon pulled in. "I don't understand," he said. "How did you know they would be here?"

"_Simple," Casey said. "I just tailed Ellie's cell phone."_

"_Did you call her?" Devon asked._

"_I didn't have too," Casey replied. "As long as her phone is on, it's talking to the cell tower. Anyone with the right access can pinpoint anybody with a cell phone."_

"_Very nice," Devon said. "I'm impressed. But how are we going to get in there without them seeing us?"_

"_Normally, that would be tough," Casey said. "They would recognize us right away. There is no way that we could sneak in there. That's why I called a friend who Janice doesn't know. He's going to go in and be our eyes. Maybe he can even plant a bug."_

_

* * *

_

Andy Jefferies wasn't a real close friend of Casey's. They served together in Korea for a year. But that was a long time ago. Andy had long ago left the military to become an L.A. detective. And John Casey would normally have been nothing but a faint memory. But there was that chance meeting in the bar two years ago. And once they realized that they lived in the same general area, they had stayed in touch. Andy had even been to Casey's place to play cards a few times.

_So when Casey called to ask him to spy on his new fiancé and his neighbor, he quickly agreed. And not really out of any sense of friendship. No, it was more out of curiosity. On two levels, really. First, what kind of woman would agree to marry John Casey? What a lonely, desperate piece of work she must be. But also his neighbor. He had caught a glimpse of her a couple of times – and wow. He had always suspected that Casey had a thing for her. But him having a fiancé poured cold water on that theory. Regardless, what a woman. She had curves in all the right places. Getting another glimpse would be well worth giving up his evening. Especially since, to be totally honest, he didn't have much going on anyway._

_Even though Casey didn't say, it was obvious what was going on here. He suspected that his new fiancé was already boning some other dude. So it was absolutely no surprise when he saw the neighbor and what was obviously the fiancé sitting at a table with two men. What was a total surprise however, was the fiancé. She was the hottest woman Andy had ever seen. No wonder Casey was worried. The husband – or in this case, the almost husband – was always the first to know when his woman wasn't satisfied._

_There was one good thing about being a detective. Andy had developed a sixth sense about reading body language. But this one was easy. The fiancé was relaxed and obviously at ease. But the neighbor – that was another thing completely. She had guilt written all over her face. Certainly, the guy sitting across from her could read it as easily. It was like she was wearing a sign. I'm going to be very easy to get into bed._

_And wait a minute. Wasn't she engaged? To a hot shot doctor? That started the wheels turning in Andy's head. Wonder what she would do to keep her hunky doctor man from finding out about her extra curriculars? After all, it wouldn't do to take advantage of a friend's woman – even a casual friend. But his neighbor? Nothing in the world wrong with that. Everybody knew that, if you wanted to dance, you have to pay the band. And maybe, just maybe, he could join the band for a night or two._

_Andy smiled as he picked up the phone to call Casey – and imagined the possibilities._

_

* * *

_

Elise was lying on her bed watching television. And she felt like she had suddenly turned eighty freaking years old. Elise Walters lying in bed – alone – at nine o'clock. It was unthinkable. But, then again, it had been an odd five months. Elise was used to living alone. Now here she was living with her professional hero, who happened to be very, very pregnant, and perhaps the nicest guy in the world. It was odd. Odd didn't even begin to describe it. To say that Sarah Walker was intimidating was an understatement. Not that she tried to be. Sarah had gone out of her way to make Elise feel part of the team and even more than that, part of the family. It's just that looking at Sarah, even eight months pregnant, made Elise feel inadequate – in every way you could imagine.

_And the missions – what few missions they did have were minor – jokes even. It was like the higher ups were marking time until Sarah Walker, the real agent, became available again. And that was frustrating._

_So when her phone rang, it was actually a little exciting. And when she saw that it was Casey, her heart actually skipped a beat. Maybe the missions were jokes – but anything beat lying in bed alone at nine o'clock._

"_Walters," she answered. "What's up, Casey?"_

"_We have a big problem," Casey said._

_Big problem? Elise liked the sound of that. Maybe this evening wouldn't be such a bore after all._

"_Janice and Ellie are in trouble," Casey continued._

_Elise's heart soared. A team member was in trouble. It was time to get into agent mode. "What's wrong?" she asked._

"_Janice and Ellie are at O'Leary's sitting with two strange men," Casey said._

_Elise's heart sank. It was sad that Janice was cheating on him. But everybody could see that she wasn't happy. She hadn't been in a while. But still – cheating on Casey? That was the last thing that she wanted to get in the middle of. What was she? A marriage counselor? And Ellie? That was surprising. "I'm sorry, Casey," she said. "Do you want to talk?"_

"_No, dumbass," Casey said in his typical manner. "I want you to go grab Bartowski and get your asses over here. Go in as a couple and see if he flashes on these men."_

"_Look, Casey," Elise said. "I'm really sorry. I am. But is this something that you want Chuck to see? His sister and another guy?"_

"_No way," Casey said. "Janice would never involve Ellie unless she was desperate. They must be perps of some kind. She must be playing an angle for some reason. Be careful not to blow her cover."_

"_Okay," Elise said tentatively. "We'll be right there."_

_

* * *

_

Janice could tell right away that her trying to show off to Ellie had been a serious mistake. She was just going to flirt with him for a minute. Maybe lead him by his nose over to Ellie to prove to her that she had him under control. And then use Ellie as an excuse to leave. And at first it was going well. He was definitely interested. It wasn't until he was sitting down at the table when she noticed the bulge of the gun under his jacket. That was bad. Especially since Janice didn't have her own gun. But that wasn't even the worst part. It turned out that he wasn't alone after all. And when his buddy joined them, the bulge in his jacket was even bigger. Not only that – but after a few minutes of looking at Ellie, he had – umm – other bulges. And after hearing him speak for only a very few minutes, Janice knew that he was not the kind of man who took no for an answer.

_Janice knew that she had to get Ellie out of this. After all, she wasn't trained. The look on her face plainly said that she was nervous and didn't know what to do. Especially after hearing Janice's Bogotá story. And that was like throwing blood in the water around a shark. Why would she ever agree to dance with him? That was a mistake. Okay, so he didn't give her much of a choice. He practically dragged her out to the dance floor. Janice could see them. The guy had his hands all over her. This was really getting out of hand. When they finally returned to the table, Ellie flashed Janice a look that was pure desperation._

_So it was actually a relief when Janice spotted Elise. She was far less enthusiastic to see Chuck with her. After all, there was going to be some serious explaining to do. He had obviously just seen his sister come off the dance floor with a full set of Paul's fingerprints on her ass. But anything was better than the current situation. So she caught Elise's eye and waived to her._

"_Look, Ellie," Janice said as calmly as she could. "It's your brother and his girlfriend." She could see the look of panic in Ellie's eyes. So she knew that she needed to control the situation. Maybe they could just leave gracefully. "Well guys," she said as she turned to the men. "It was a pleasure to meet you. But we have to get going. We meeting Ellie's brother and his new girlfriend to celebrate and they are here."_

_Paul's face showed his displeasure. "But we're having such a good time," he said. "They can join us."_

_Janice knew that she needed to do something to get out of there. "I'm sorry," she said. "But we're meeting some other people someplace else. Maybe we can get together again sometime."_

"_Tomorrow?" Paul immediately said. It was far more statement than question. "We'll go to dinner."_

"_Sure," Janice said with a smile. It was the perfect exit strategy. Agree to meet tomorrow – and never come back to this place again. "It sounds like fun. Doesn't it Ellie?"_

_So they agreed to meet tomorrow at six. And finally they were able to leave the table and join Chuck and Elise._

_Chuck was clearly not happy. "What is going on here?" he asked Janice pointedly. "Why would you include Ellie in a dangerous mission?"_

"_It was a mistake," Janice said softly. "I didn't mean to. But it's over. Can we please keep this between us?"_

"_Between us?" Chuck all but shouted. "I flashed right away. Do you know who those men are?"_

_Janice just shook her head._

"_That is Paul and Jeff Leon," Chuck said. "Of the Leon family. Maybe you've heard of them? The organized crime kingpins of the west coast. I can't believe that you would let Ellie anywhere near them. Let's go."_

"_Where are we going?" Janice asked._

"_Our place," Chuck said. "Beckman wants to conference with us in twenty minutes. Apparently she is very interested in finding out more about the Leon's."_

_Janice's heart sank. Now it would be hard to keep Casey, and especially Devon, from learning about this now that Beckman knew. Maybe she could appeal to her to keep it quiet. Maybe use the mom angle. "Can we not tell Casey and Devon about this?" she asked hopefully._

_Chuck looked at her like she had just grown another head. "It's a little late for that," he growled. "They are outside in the car. They will meet us there."_

* * *

Chuck looked down at his now soundly sleeping daughter. "We'd better pick this up again tomorrow night," he said with a smile. "I think that you have stopped listening. And you'll want to be alert when you hear what Beckman told them to do."

His intention was to carry Kate to her crib. But he quickly discovered that Sarah was also asleep on his shoulder. The last thing that he wanted to do was to wake her up. She felt so good there. So that meant he was sort of stuck – trapped between the two ladies that were now his life. After a while, his arm started to cramp from holding Kate in the same position for so long. But as he watched Sarah sleeping he couldn't bring himself to wake her up. She simply felt so nice. So relaxed. And she had been so tense lately. She really needed to relax. And it had been so long since they had shared this kind of moment. Far, far too long. It wasn't going to end just because his arm was now on fire.

After all, nothing had ever hurt so good.


	4. The Rookie

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_It's been a long time since Sarah was a rookie. But that might not be so bad after all. And Janice has a really, really, really bad day._

_Thanks to the best author that I know, Brickroad, for looking this over. I'm not going to put any spoilers here. But we're beyond excited at what we're anticipating on the show in a few weeks._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Rookie**

- - - -

* * *

Sarah's eyes finally opened after Chuck gently shook her shoulder. She could hear Kate starting to get a little fussy. And to be honest, it made her feel a little better. _So she did cry sometimes when Chuck had her_. She quickly yawned to hide the smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "I must have fallen asleep. What did I miss?"

Chuck just smiled at her. "You didn't miss anything," he said. "I'm sorry I had to wake you up. But Kate really needs to eat."

Sarah was finally able to focus her eyes and looked at the clock. It was a little after seven. Then the realization hit her. "Chuck," she said. "Have you been sitting here holding Kate for four hours?" _So that's why Kate is fussy_.

"Well," Chuck said. "I was holding you too. You looked so peaceful. I couldn't bear to wake you up. Besides, I've missed holding you."

Sarah got up and took the baby out of Chuck's arm. Then she reached down to gently kiss him. "I've missed being held," she whispered.

Chuck took a moment to stretch out the cramp in his arm. "It was nice," he said. "It felt – I don't know – like old times. Don't get me wrong. I love that Kate is here. I absolutely do. But I've missed our time too. And I'm not just talking about sex. I'm talking about us. I haven't spent any time making sure that you know that you are my life. I'm sorry about that. We have to find time."

Sarah really didn't know if she should laugh or cry or both. But wow, did she need to hear that. Once again, Chuck knew exactly how she felt. It was the reminder that she so desperately needed. Not that Chuck loved her. She never really questioned that. And not even the parent thing. She knew that they were in this together. But for the past two months, every waking second had been devoted to Kate. And after all, that's how it should have been. But she had to admit, she missed being Chuck's Sarah. "Why don't you go take a nap?" she said with a grin. "As soon as Kate is fed and bathed, I'll come and join you. Maybe we can find some time this morning for each other."

Chuck grinned back. "You do realize," he said. "That I said not _only_ sex. I wasn't saying that I didn't want…"

"I know," Sarah said. "Sweetie, trust me. You're not the only one."

"Good," Chuck said. "Because, by my count, you owe me fourteen fantasies."

"Been keeping track, I see," Sarah laughed as she punched him playfully in the arm. "Maybe instead of an intersect, you should have been an accountant. Are you expecting all fourteen today?"

"Umm no," Chuck said. "I want to have some quality time… not die."

"Don't worry," Sarah said over her shoulder as she carried Kate off. "I think I can accommodate you."

- - - -

* * *

Sarah ran the water for Kate's bath. It was the part of the day that she had come to dread. Because if there was one thing that Sarah hated above all else, it was to feel inadequate. And, let's face it. She was inadequate at bathing a baby. It would actually have been a little funny to an outside observer. Kate would scream. And that broke Sarah's heart. Oh, it had gotten maybe a little better. Sarah could now keep most of the water in the baby tub. But still – not a fun time. So she was determined. It was time for that – and a whole lot of other things to change. Maybe Chuck had the right idea.

"Okay, Katy," Sarah said as she pulled her undershirt off. "It's time that you and I had a little chat. I guess you'd call it our first mother – daughter chat. And I'm probably going to mess this up. I've never been a mom before. And I didn't even know my own mom. So I'm a complete rookie. I guess that we both are. So I'll cut you some slack if you'll cut me some – deal?"

Sarah smiled as Kate waived her arms wildly, as she lathered up her hair. "Let's face it, sweetie," Sarah said. "It's been a rough six weeks. And that's not your fault at all. I'm not saying that. You've been perfect. It's just that… well…, to be honest, I wasn't really ready to be a mom. And something that you should know about me, I'm sort of a perfectionist. I don't handle being bad at things very well. So when you would cry, I sort of took it personally. And I'm really sorry. I know that drove you a little crazy. And it just made things worse."

Sarah reached down and kissed Kate's head as she began to gently rinse her off. "So, I promise – from now on I'm going to try and relax a lot more. And, sweetie, there's one thing that I want you to always know. No matter how much I mess up…"

At this point, Sarah had to blink away her own tears. "I love you, Katy," she whispered. "I love you so much. And I'm going to do better. I promise."

As Sarah was gently rubbing the baby lotion on Kate's legs, she suddenly realized something. Kate hadn't cried. Oh, Sarah had tears in her eyes a couple of times. But Kate was fine. It was the first bath that hadn't been an absolute disaster. For the first time, Sarah felt like they had turned a corner. Maybe there was something about these mother-daughter chats. Hopefully, things would get a lot easier from now on.

As she gently set Kate down on her bed, she whispered, "Have a nice nap, sweetie. Maybe we can talk again when you wake up."

- - - -

* * *

Chuck had finished changing Kate. He was just about ready to give her the bottle when Sarah walked in and sat down beside them.

"Why are you up?" Chuck asked. "Did I leave the monitor on again? I'm sorry. I thought…"

"No," Sarah quickly said. "You turned it off. I just wanted to spend some time with the two loves of my life."

"That's nice," Chuck said. "You're just in time. I was getting ready to start the story."

"Where are we at?" Sarah asked. "I fell asleep last night."

"I'm going to pick up with Beckman's briefing," Chuck said. "That should be fun."

Sarah laughed. "It wasn't that much fun at the time," she said. "Do me a favor."

Chuck just nodded expectantly.

"If I fall asleep, promise me you'll wake me up," Sarah said. "I don't want you to sit here all night again holding us."

Chuck smiled and nodded. "Okay, Kate," he said. "You haven't met General Beckman yet. She can be a little – well, a little intense…"

- - - -

_

* * *

_

The video conference room in the basement was fairly full. After all, the entire team was there. And Sarah actually took up two spots. Ellie and Devon were asked to wait upstairs. Things were obviously tense between them as Devon refused to speak to her. But that was nothing compared to the icy silent treatment that Casey giving Janice.

_Finally Beckman came online. "This is a huge break," she said. "We have been after the Leon family for years."_

"_I don't understand, ma'am," Elise said. "Why would we be interested in organized crime? Isn't this a matter for the FBI?"_

_"Normally, Agent Walters," Beckman said. "That would be true. But the Leons are special. They are associated with The Ring. We have intelligence that suggests they may even be connected to part of The Ring's top hierarchy."_

"_No problem, ma'am," Janice said. "To disengage, I agreed to meet them tomorrow for dinner. We can just have a team detain them when they show up."_

_Beckman directed a very icy stare towards Janice. Any indication that they were mother – daughter was long gone. "That won't work, Agent Beckman," she growled. "The brothers are worthless. We need the father, Papa Joe Leon. And we have no idea where he is."_

"_Can't we simply tail the brothers?" Janice asked hopefully. "Maybe they will lead us to him."_

_"I'm afraid not," Beckman said flatly. "Don't you think that we might have thought of that, Agent Beckman?" The sarcasm in her voice left no doubt how angry she was. "They are very used to being tailed. So they have some very effective techniques to avoid them."_

"_Do you have something in mind, ma'am?" Sarah asked._

"_Yes," Beckman said. "We have an opening. I assume that the brothers expressed a romantic interest in Agent Beckman and Dr. Bartowski. You're going to need to exploit that interest to get close to them."_

_"Ma'am," Chuck said. "Ellie isn't a trained agent. She can't participate in a seduction mission. She would get killed – or worse."_

_"Relax, Chuck," Beckman said. "Of course we wouldn't expect Dr. Bartowski to pull something like this off. This will be a difficult assignment for a seasoned pro."_

"_Thank goodness," Chuck sighed._

_"However," Beckman continued. "We will need her to go on that first date to give Agent Beckman her opening. We'll make up some excuse after that for her to disengage. Perhaps Agent Walters can be inserted in her place."_

_"General," Sarah said. "This is a dangerous situation. These are some pretty slimy characters. Ellie isn't trained for this. What if something goes wrong?"_

_Beckman sighed. "I understand your concern," she said. "And I wish that we didn't have to use her. But thanks to Agent Beckman's completely unprofessional and reckless behavior, we really have no choice. Don't worry. We'll have Agents Casey, Walters, and Bartowski tailing them. They can wear bugs and earpieces. Just have her go to dinner, make up some excuse that she's not feeling well, and go home. Agent Beckman can make a date with her and Agent Walters for the next night."_

"_Ma'am…" Chuck said._

"_Agent Bartowski," Beckman interrupted. "We have a chance to identify an individual at the upper echelon of the Ring hierarchy. Do you know how many lives that could save?"_

_"Yes, ma'am," Chuck said sadly._

_Sarah sighed. "Don't worry, Chuck," she said. "I'll be talking Ellie through it."_

_"No way," Chuck said. "You're due in three weeks."_

_"I'll just be sitting in the van," Sarah said calmly. "Who is better at handling marks without sleeping with them?"_

_Beckman leaned forward in her seat. "Are you sure that you're up to this?" she asked._

_"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said quickly. "Ellie needs me."_

"_Well then," Beckman said. "Agent Beckman, I would like to have a few words with you in private."_

"_Yes, ma'am," Janice said stiffly._

"_The rest of you are dismissed."_

- - - -

* * *

"Well, Kate," Chuck said as he put her on his shoulder to burp. "Aunt Janice never did tell us what the General said to her. But I can guess that it wasn't all that pleasant."

"No," Sarah said. "She was upset. You could feel the steam coming off the monitor."

"Have you ever been dressed down like that?" Chuck asked.

"You're joking, right?" Sarah asked. "Sweetie, I've been screamed at by the president himself."

"I think I'd pick the president over Beckman," Chuck said. "Anyway, Kate, Aunt Janice's bad night was just beginning."

- - - -

_

* * *

_

As soon as Janice stepped out of the communication room, Casey was standing there waiting for her. "That wasn't what it looked like," she said.

_The redness in Casey's face told Janice how angry he was. "Then what was it?" he growled._

_Janice forced herself to look into his eyes. "I was just showing Ellie what spies do," she said. "She was interested, so I decided to show her. It got a little out of hand."_

_Casey took more time than usual to respond. That, more than anything, told Janice that he was furious. "What were you going to show her next?" he asked. "How a spy puts on the condom? Maybe how to smoke a cigarette after?"_

"_Casey," Janice pleaded._

"_I'm going home," Casey said. "I think it would be best if you stayed here tonight." He walked to the door and stopped._

_There was a sag in Casey's shoulders that Janice had never seen before. It broke her heart to see him so hurting._

_Casey didn't turn to face Janice so she couldn't see his face. But his voice was broken. "You know," he said. "If you weren't happy, we could have worked something out. I would have done anything."_

- - - -

_

* * *

_

Janice knew that she had to stop Casey and explain things. But as soon as she got to the top of the stairs, Sarah grabbed her arm. There was a fire in her eyes that Janice had never seen before. She had Ellie by one arm and with the other pushed Janice back down the stairs. She, more or less, dragged Janice and Ellie down the stairs and into the communication room. Then she slammed the door.

_Sarah was having a hard time controlling her voice. "Okay," she finally said. "What in the hell actually happened tonight?"_

_Janice and Ellie looked at each other for a long moment. Finally, Janice spoke in an unsure voice. "I was just showing Ellie how our seduction training helps us control…"_

_"It's my fault, Sarah," Ellie interrupted. "I was asking Janice about seducing men… and… well, it got a little carried away."_

_Sarah turned her blazing gaze towards Ellie. "So," she said. "Let me see if I have it right. You want to know all about how powerful it is to control men? How much of a turn on it is? How sexy it makes you feel?"_

_Ellie nodded meekly._

_"Well it isn't," Sarah shouted. "Get that out of your head right now. You have no idea. It's degrading and empty. You're a piece of meat to those men. They don't give a rip about you other than getting in your pants. You never get to do anything that you want to do. Your every move is dictated on what the mark would like. And even if there are a few seconds of thrill at being able to control him – you pay for it with hours of lying in bed naked next to him knowing that he has just taken something from you that you will never, ever get back. It means that you spend Thanksgiving and Christmas alone in your hotel room. And if you do it long enough, you wind up like Janice here – a machine -- incapable of really loving anybody."_

_Ellie began to softly sob._

_Sarah took a deep breath and softened her voice. "Ellie," she said. "You know how much I love you. But right now, if I weren't eight months pregnant I would kick your ass around this room. You're such a brilliant, incredible woman. How could you possibly be so brain-dead-stupid? You have it all. You have someone who you love and who loves you back. And not just someone – a brilliant doctor who looks like he should be on the cover of a magazine. And that's not enough for you? Ellie, do you know how lucky you are? Do you have any idea how many nights I sat alone in a dark room – afraid to even hope that someday I would find someone to truly love me? You have that and are on the verge of pissing it away. You had better go. Get up right now and make sure that Devon understands."_

_Ellie didn't look at Sarah. She just got up and silently left the room._

"_It wasn't her fault," Janice said._

_Sarah turned her head towards Janice. "I know," she said. "This is completely your fault. What could you possibly have been thinking?"_

_Janice couldn't meet the fire in Sarah's eyes. So she looked at the floor. "I wasn't going to seduce anybody," she said softly. "I was just trying to be Ellie's friend. It got out of hand."_

_"Trying to be her friend?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "By completely messing up her life? Do you understand what this looks like? To Casey? Devon? Chuck and me? Do you know what Casey is feeling right now? Devon? Was it worth it?"_

"_I thought Casey would understand," Janice said sadly. "It wasn't real."_

"_Real world relationships have boundaries," Sarah said as she got up to leave. "If you're going to have any, you'd better learn that – real quick. You're on the edge of blowing it."_

_Janice couldn't help the tears from falling. "I thought that Casey would understand," she said meekly._

_Sarah paused before she walked out the door._

"_I'm not talking about Casey."_

- - - -

* * *

Chuck looked down at Kate. She was almost asleep. "Aunt Janice had a bad night," he said. "And it even gets a little worse for her. But, don't worry. You'll see tomorrow that it all worked out for the best."

Sarah lifted her head from Chuck's shoulder and smiled. "I noticed that you edited out some of the language of my talk. Thanks,"

"Yeah," Chuck said with his own smile. "There were some words that I'm hoping that Kate doesn't learn for a few years."

"You can't leave the story there," Sarah said. "Are you trying to depress her? You have to tell her what happened to Janice next."

Chuck looked at Sarah with a confused look. "I don't know what you mean."

"Well, Kate," Sarah said. "Aunt Janice was feeling as badly as she ever had in her whole life. But then…"

- - - -

_

* * *

_

Janice just sat numbly in the darkened communications room. How could things have possibly gone so wrong? She didn't even notice for a while that Chuck was standing in front of her.

"_Please," she whispered. "Don't yell at me. Not you too. I know I messed up. But I just can't take anymore yelling tonight. Please?"_

_Chuck stepped up to Janice, grabbed both of her hands, and pulled her to her feet. Then he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I'm not going to yell at you," he said softly. "I just want to make sure you're okay."_

_That's when Janice broke down. She sobbed into Chuck's chest. He just let her cry for a long moment and softly rubbed her back._

"_You do realize," Chuck said, after a while. "That nobody loves you any less tonight. That being angry isn't the same thing as not loving you."_

"_You didn't see Casey's face," Janice sobbed. "He doesn't love me anymore."_

_"That's so not true," Chuck said. "You couldn't possibly be more wrong. The problem isn't that Casey doesn't love you anymore. The problem is that Casey loves you too much. He's hurt about tonight, sure. And more than that, he's embarrassed that it happened in front of his friend. But the real problem is that he knows you're not happy. He wants you to be happy."_

"_I'm happy," Janice said. "I'll admit that I'm used to living alone. And sometimes I get frustrated by things. But it doesn't have anything to do with how I feel about Casey. I can't lose him."_

"_You're not going to lose him," Chuck said with a smile. "I promise. We won't let that happen. Spend the night here and we'll fix this in the morning."_

_Janice had to admit, she felt a lot better. It felt so good to just let go in Chuck's arms. "Thanks, dad," she finally whispered._

"_Anytime," Chuck said with a grin. "After all, I need to get in practice."_

- - - -

* * *

"So, you see, sweetie," Sarah said as she took Kate from Chuck and walked over to her crib. "You have the most amazing daddy. He is truly the nicest man in the whole world. You and I both need to remember that. Whenever we're feeling bad, no matter what the reason, go talk to him. He'll make us feel better."

Sarah set Kate down in her bed and gently kissed her head.

"Your daddy is not a rookie," she whispered. "After all, he practiced on Aunt Janice."

* * *

- - - -


	5. Revenge is Sweet Icky Sweet

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Chuck finally hears the story of Sarah's first love. There are some stories that Chuck won't want to tell to Kate. But that doesn't mean that you don't want to read them._

_Thanks to Brickroad, for all of what she does. But most of all for being my friend._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Revenge is Sweet – Icky Sweet**

* * *

General Beckman sat in the briefing room with her senior staff trying to keep the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach from overwhelming her. This was not going well, at all. She tried to concentrate on what the analyst was saying.

"There is little question that Mr. Colson is a 2.0 intersect," he said. "He exhibited all of the signs that our modeling would have predicted. He knew that Undersecretary Adams would be an excellent source of information. He also knew exactly how to find him. He also knew how to exact the right amount of pain to gain his cooperation while keeping him conscious."

"Why didn't he know all of the names of the team?" Beckman asked. "He omitted Mr. Bartowski and Agent Walters."

"We're guessing, ma'am," the man said. "But it's likely that he never questioned Mr. Adams about them. Mr. Bartowski is not in the intersect. And Agent Walters is classified as Fulcrum. Colson would have had no reason to ask about them and Mr. Adams would have had no reason to give them up."

"What is the risk?" Beckman asked cautiously.

"Severe, I'm afraid," the man said. "Colson is now an expert at virtually every skill one can imagine. He will be almost impossible to capture. And since he knows all of our general communication mechanisms, it's almost assured that he will know any of our plans just as soon as we do."

"Does he know where the Bartowskis are now?" she asked.

"Probably not, ma'am," he said. "The new base was not in the intersect. He probably already knows about the old Castle location. But that has been abandoned. Agent Walker had some contact within the old Fulcrum organization. But all that knowledge probably died when Fulcrum did. Agent Larkin hasn't reported in yet. He was deep undercover so no one really knows where he is. Agent Casey's residence wasn't in the intersect so that is safe for now."

"For now?" Beckman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Colson has a lot of ways to get information. And unfortunately, there are a few people who know the locations. It is probably only a matter of time before he stumbles onto one."

"How do we deal with this?" Beckman asked.

That left everyone in the room looking at the floor.

"The only thing that we can think of," the analyst finally said. "Is to create our own intersect 2.0 and use that to find and neutralize Mr. Colson."

"That won't work," Beckman said. "Who could we recruit? All of our testing has been fatal."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "And the results with the Fulcrum situation pretty much verified that. Colson was the only survivor that we're aware of. The only candidate that we're aware of is Mr. Bartowski."

Beckman groaned audibly. _I was afraid of that_. "Dr. Jones," she said. "Let's talk a bit about your findings."

"Yes, ma'am," Jones said. "I want to stress that a lot of this is guesswork based upon our modeling. Mr. Colson's behavior and mannerisms in the video were entirely consistent with our modeling predictions. But like any modeling, the actual results may vary."

"Understood," Beckman said. "Continue."

"The intersect has some amazing physical and mental abilities," Jones said. "But there are some physiological side effects."

That didn't sound good. "Sides effects?" Beckman questioned.

"The main one is the complete lack of any conscience," Jones said. "He will believe that anything he decides is justified. And that will eventually lead him into a God Complex."

"God complex?" Beckman asked. "Colson mentioned that in the video."

"Yes ma'am," Jones said. "He will come to think of himself as a god. He will expect that every mortal who he comes into contact with will be submissive to him. And if they are not, he will become violent to punish them. He will become particularly aggressive – umm…" Jones looked around the room uncomfortably.

"Just say it," Beckman said with a sigh. "You mean sexually."

"Yes, ma'am," Jones said softly. "He will consider it his right to have anyone he desires. He will also have some other abilities. He will be able to influence people easily."

"Like Jedi mind control?" Beckman asked.

"Maybe," Jones laughed. "There is nothing supernatural but he will have an amazing ability to know what people want to hear, how to read their body language, and persuade them – using not only his words, but his body language as well. People will want to be his friend. And women will easily fall in love with him."

Beckman looked around the room. "And how much of this will translate to Mr. Bartowski?"

"It's impossible to say," Jones said. "Probably all of it to some extent. A strong person could learn to control most of the destructive characteristics. But there would be a learning curve. I've never met him, but from Mr. Bartowski's profile, I would say that he has an excellent chance to regain control after a few weeks."

"Would he be a danger to his loved ones?" Beckman asked. His whole team are very competent agents. Would they be able to defend themselves if he did become violent?"

"I don't think he would be a danger," Jones said. "But they may be shocked by the changes for a while. Particularly his wife. But there would be no way for, even a superior agent, to last long in a confrontation with him. His physical abilities would simply be too overwhelming."

"Okay," Beckman sighed. "I'll talk to the team and let you know what our plans are. Until then, you're dismissed."

As the room emptied, Beckman sat numbly. This was simply too much to ask. And yet, what choice did they really have?

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were lying in their favorite position. It was the part of the day that was quickly becoming a highlight for both of them. After Kate's morning feeding, they decided to spend her nap as their together time.

"You know," Chuck said as he softly rubbed Sarah's back. "There are some things about that night I don't think I've ever heard. Whatever happened with you and Ellie? I mean, I know that you made up."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "I'll tell you," she finally said. "But I want to warn you. I told her some really personal things. Some things that I've never even told you. So I hope that doesn't bother you…"

_

* * *

_

Ellie sat at the kitchen table numbly. After all, she didn't have anyplace else to go. Devon obviously wasn't speaking to her. He had taken Casey home a little earlier. She was so consumed by her thoughts that it didn't even register for a minute that Sarah had walked up and was sitting at the table across from her.

_Sarah reached her hands across the table towards Ellie. "I'm sorry," she said._

"_Sweetie," Ellie said as she grabbed Sarah's hands. "I understand. You didn't mean the things that you said. You were angry."_

_Sarah smiled. "No," she said. "You don't understand. I meant every word down there. Every single word. That's not why I'm sorry. I just should have found a better way to say it."_

_Sarah smiled at the shock on Ellie's face. "I don't know if I've ever told you this before," she said. "You know that I love you. But it's more than that. You're my hero. You're the one person in the whole world who I want to be like the most. So when I see you acting stupid, it hurts me."_

_"We must be really close," Ellie said, more than a little sarcastically. "Because you're obviously not afraid to be frank. Why do you think I'm being stupid?"_

_"I'm sorry, Ellie," Sarah said. "But you are being stupid. And I love you too much to not try and make you understand. You think that there is something exciting about being a spy. And I've been there. I know what I'm talking about."_

"_Will you tell me?" Ellie asked._

_Sarah paused for a long moment. "I'm not going to tell you anything classified," she said. "But I would appreciate it if this could stay between us. Not even Chuck has heard some of this."_

"_Of course," Ellie said._

_"You know," Sarah said. "It's a fallacy that the CIA would ever order an agent to have sex with someone. They never would. For one thing, that would be illegal. The orders always say – using any means necessary. That's sort of a code thing. They always let you be the one to decide to use sex."_

"_Really?" asked Ellie._

"_But they know they don't have to order you," Sarah said. "That's a big part of what spy training is all about… to desensitize you towards sex. Trust me, if you were shy or modest about showing your body or sex when you go into spy training, you sure as hell aren't when you finish. They pound that out of you."_

"_I'll bet the men love that," Ellie said with a grin._

_"At first," Sarah admitted. "And not only the men. But eventually it does the same thing to the men as it does to the women. It ruins them. I mean, look at Bryce."_

_"I don't understand," Ellie said. "Ruin you? How can it ruin you?"_

_Sarah squeezed Ellie's hand for emphasis – perhaps a little harder than she intended. "Because," she said. "It makes sex mundane. Ellie, you're thinking that it makes it more exciting and dangerous. But it's exactly the opposite. It makes it cheap, routine, and boring. It makes it work. If you want to hear an exciting story from Janice, forget about all the missions. Have her tell you about the first time she made love with Casey. You'll hear the tremble in her voice. She was bowled over by how intense it was. She never thought it was possible. She had been ruined."_

_Ellie sat and studied Sarah for a long moment. "What about you?" she finally asked._

_Sarah looked at the table for a long moment. "Ellie, I've slept with a few men," she finally said. "I don't know how much Chuck has told you but there was a time in my life when Janice and I were pretty wild. I soon figured out that whenever I was bored or lonely, it was pretty easy to find a man in a bar to spend the night with. They didn't love me – and that was fine because I didn't love them either. And I always thought that sex was okay. Not great, I couldn't figure out why everybody made such a big deal. But it was okay. It was a good way to pass the time. So the first time I had to seduce a mark on a mission, I figured, no big deal, right? It would be just like the guy I had picked up from the bar last week."_

"_What happened?" Ellie asked._

"_It was numbing," Sarah said. "Oh the act itself was no big deal. Trust me, your mind is far too occupied with reading him and acting like his dream girl while at the same time trying to plan contingency escape routes to worry much about what he's doing to you."_

_Ellie nodded to let Sarah know that she understood._

_"And that is the worst part," Sarah continued. "It became no big deal. I could lie there in that bed with some terrorist and act like his personal plaything – and it was no big deal. It took something in my life that should have been great and made it no big deal. It actually ruined sex for me."_

"_Sarah," Ellie said. "Are you saying that you don't enjoy sex?"_

_A grin came to Sarah's face. "No," she said. "I said there was a time in my life when it was no big deal. But then, when I least expected it, something happened to me that changed my life."_

"_What's that?"_

_"I met a guy on a mission," Sarah said. "This is the part that Chuck has never completely heard. At first, it was no big deal. We worked together for a while. He was the greatest guy, Ellie. He was so sweet. Everybody liked him. He could always make me laugh. And even though I never had sex with him, we eventually grew closer. It took a long time but he eventually fell in love with me. But I kept pushing him away. I mean, how could someone fall for me without sex? That's all men had ever wanted from me. But he wouldn't let me go. Eventually we because so close that we ended up in bed one night. It was like I had no choice. It just happened on its own."_

"_And?" Ellie asked expectantly._

_"Wow, Ellie," Sarah said. "It was amazing. I can't even put the feeling into words. It changed my life. I simply wasn't prepared for how great it was. It was like all of the stories I had read but no longer believed. Visions of fireworks going off in your head. Having feelings so intense that you wonder if you're going to explode. Of being so happy that all you could do was lie there totally contented. And the funny thing is that the next night it was even better. He was my first love, Ellie. It blew me away. And I decided I would never cheapen that experience or his memory by having sex with anyone that I didn't love ever again. I never have."_

_Ellie nodded with a soft smile._

"_You don't know how lucky you are," Sarah said. "You're in love. With a wonderful man. Don't blow it."_

"_I understand what you're saying," Ellie said. "You don't have to worry about me. I won't."_

_Sarah looked across the table shyly. "I've never told Chuck this story," she said. "Not really. I mean he knows about some of my past. But I've never told him specifics. I was afraid that it would just raise too many issues."_

_Ellie took a big breath. "I think Chuck would eventually understand," she said. "We all have people in our past. What ever happened to the guy?"_

_Ellie could see the tears filling Sarah's eyes as she stood up and walked around the table to embrace her. "That's the best part," Sarah said. "This amazing man asked me to marry him. Can you believe it? Me. He asked me to marry him. It was a freaking fairy tale, Ellie. So I married him… actually twice. And my feet haven't touched the ground since. In three weeks, I'm going to have his daughter."_

* * *

Chuck reached down and gently kissed her. "That was a nice story," he said. "But I was the lucky one. Why haven't you told me before?"

"Sweetie," Sarah said with a laugh. "You're head is too big already. I'm not sure how to deal with you now that you know."

Chuck laughed himself. "I'll try and stay calm," he said. "But I don't think I'm going to tell this to Kate."

Sarah kept her lips pressed to Chuck's for a long moment. "No sweetie," she said. "I'm going to tell her. Not tonight. I'm going to wait a few years. But she needs to hear how great it feels to be in love. The guy that will change her life is out there somewhere. And when she finds him, she'll just know. She needs to understand that she should never settle for anything less. I never had a mom to tell me that."

"Of course," Chuck said with a grin. "Right now, her dream guy is sleeping in his own crib."

"Or maybe he hasn't been born yet," Sarah said with her own grin.

They just held each other for a long moment. "I don't think I ever did hear what happened with Elise and Casey that night," Chuck said after a while. "All I saw was the aftermath."

"Elise told me," Sarah said with a laugh. "Trust me, sweetie. This isn't part of the story that you are going to tell Kate either."

"Why don't you tell me about it," Chuck said. "And I can make up my own mind."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Elise saw that Casey was hurting. So she decided that she needed to…"

_

* * *

_

When Casey answered the door, Elise was not the last person in the world that he expected to see standing there. But she also wasn't in the top hundred.

"_Hey," Elise said. The smile on her face looked like she didn't have a care in the world._

"_What," Casey grunted._

"_Still not real sociable, I see," Elsie said as she pushed past Casey into the house. "It's nice to see you too."_

_Casey closed the door with a sigh. "What do you want?" he asked with no hint of humor._

"_I'll start with a beer," Elise said with her smile still intact. "Thanks for asking."_

"_Elise," Casey said with a sigh. "This isn't a real good night."_

_Elise walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "I know," she said over her shoulder. "I heard. Don't worry. I'll get my own beer. Do you want one?"_

"_No,"_

"_Great," Elise said as she handed Casey his beer. "Not my favorite brand, but it's cold, right?"_

"_Okay, Elise," Casey said. "Why are you here?"_

_Elise took a swig from her beer and sat down on the sofa. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I'm here to help you."_

"_I don't need your help," Casey growled._

_Elise laughed. "I know," she said. "You don't need anybody's help. Trust me, everybody knows that."_

_Casey took a drink from the beer that he didn't want. "Okay," he said. "Once again, why are you here?"_

_Elise sat her beer on the table next to the sofa. "Let's be honest," she said. "I'm not the best agent in the world. Nowhere close. I accept that. I'm getting better but I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I'm good at. I can read people. I'm maybe the one person in the world who can see through your tough guy bullshit. So why don't you come sit down here and let me do my job?"_

_Casey sighed – but after a moment he took the seat next to Elise where she had patted the sofa. "I don't understand," he said. "Assuming that you could, why do you want to help me?"_

_Elise looked at Casey and flashed her softest smile. "Lots of reasons," she said. "Some are professional. You and Janice are on my team. And for the past month or so, the tension between you two is affecting how we do our jobs. That might get me killed one day."_

_Casey just looked at the floor._

"_But I have to admit," Elise said. "That's not the main reason. The real reason is that I like you, Casey. I like you a lot. After all, we have been naked together. There are not many men who I actually like and I've been naked with. Not many at all. It's kind of a kinship sort of thing. That makes this perfect. Because I have the perfect solution to your problem."_

_Pure surprise caused Casey to lift his head and look at Elise. "What's that?" he asked._

_Elise gently took the beer out of Casey's hand and placed it on the table next to hers. Then she put her arms around Casey's neck and pressed her lips to his. "Revenge," she whispered as soon as the short kiss broke. "You need to teach her a lesson. I'm going to help you. She thinks that sex is no big deal. She keeps flaunting it in your face that she can pick up a guy in a bar and get him in bed. She enjoys humiliating you in front of your friends. I say lets show her that it goes both ways. After all, what's good for the goose…"_

_Elise pressed her lips against Casey's again, this time a little more urgently. Casey really didn't participate – but he didn't pull away either._

_"Come on, Casey," Elise whispered. "Work with me here. Relax. Sex is no big deal to her. She keeps telling you over and over. It's time you started believing her. If she hadn't been caught, she would probably be going for round two right about now. She is an expert, after all. And if it's no big deal to her, why should it be a big deal to you?"_

_This time when Elise kissed him she opened her mouth. Casey, tentatively at first, opened his mouth and began to tacitly participate. Elise took Casey's hand in hers and guided it to her breast. "That's the spirit," she moaned into his ear. "We'll teach her a lesson she'll never forget. I have an idea. You have a camera, don't you? Let's tape it. It would be fun."_

_Elise could feel Casey tense up._

"_It would kill her, Casey," Elise whispered as she kissed his neck. "It would absolutely fucking kill her. It would be so great. She would never mess with you again."_

_Now Elise could feel the tenseness leave Casey's body as he went limp._

"_Yeah," Elise said. "You know what? You're probably right. Let's not tape it. Let's let her imagine the worst. Her mind will come up with all kinds of stuff. Every single time that she sees me, her mind will flash to an image of us rolling around naked in bed. It will haunt her for the rest of her life."_

_Casey slowly broke away from Elise's embrace and slid down the sofa, away from her. In spite of himself, there was actually a hint of a smile on his face. "You think that you're pretty clever," he said. "Don't you?"_

_Elise shrugged her shoulders. The grin on her face said everything. "I have my moments," she said as she handed Casey back his beer. "So now that we've established that you really don't want to hurt her. I'm here to tell you that she doesn't want to hurt you either. So are you ready to talk?"_

* * *

"Wow," Chuck said. "That story really pisses me off."

Sarah lifted her head to look at him. "Why?" she asked. The concern in her voice was clear.

But Chuck quickly popped that concern when he grinned broadly. "Because," he said. "I'm supposed to be the clever one around here. Elise is moving in on my territory."

Sarah relaxed and let her head rest against his chest again. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "You're still the master. Elise is the apprentice. But you have to admit, she really came through. I'm so proud of her. She has really grown."

"It makes what Janice did later even worse," Chuck said.

"It wasn't her finest moment," Sarah agreed with a sigh. "It was an awkward night…"


	6. Dr Philis

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Elise may not be the best agent in the world. But her value to Team Chuck can't be overlooked. Too bad that Janice doesn't appreciate it for a while._

_Okay guys. I understand that the fandom is depressed because of the storyline of the show right now. I get it. And I'm not going to put any spoilers in here. But suffice it to say that all signs – and I mean all signs – point to a wildly romantic outcome for our favorite couple. So much so that the show may put me out of business, lol. So, hang in there._

_Thanks to my friend, Brickroad, for all of what she does._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Dr. Phil-is**

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were still lying on the bed in their favorite position. Their 'together' time was about half used up. So it was time to get in a little serious necking.

Once they came up for air, Sarah grinned. "What specifically did happen between Janice and Elise anyway that night?" she asked. "All I heard was the yelling."

"It was stupid," Chuck said. "Janice totally misread the situation and over reacted."

"That sounds like Janice," Sarah said.

"I know," Chuck agreed. "But this was serious. This time she went over the line…"

_

* * *

_

Elise wasn't even all the way back in her room when she sensed that something was not right. So she stopped in her tracks and reached for the light switch. When she turned on the light she saw Janice sitting on her bed. "Have you been sitting here in the dark?" Elise asked.

"_Where were you?" Janice asked as she stood, ignoring Elise's question._

_Elise noticed the hostile demeanor in Janice right away. But she didn't see any reason to lie to her. After all, she hadn't done anything bad. As a matter of fact, she had just done her a big favor. "I was at your place," she said. "Casey was hurting and…"_

_Elise didn't see the kick coming until it had impacted the side of her head. All she could feel was the numbness fill her head as she fell to the floor. But even through the fog, her training kicked in. Stay down. Trying to get up would be the worst possible thing. She rolled away from Janice and tried to assume a defensive posture._

_Janice threw another kick aimed at Elise's head. "You bitch," she screamed. "I thought you were my friend."_

_Elise was able to block most of the impact of Janice's kick with her forearm. But it still stung like hell. She instinctively knew that now was not the time to try and reason with Janice. She was far too crazy. Even worse, Elise knew that, skill wise, she had no chance in a fight against Janice. Her only hope was to go defensive and survive until help came._

_Elise was only partially able to block the next kick. A major part of the force impacted her in her mouth splitting her lip. Elise was now barely conscious and pretty much defenseless. All she could think of was to go into a fetal position and protect her head as much as possible. Fortunately, Janice didn't have time to throw her next kick. Chuck came running through the open door and tackled her. They fell together, full force, on the bed in a mass of tangled body parts. Instinctively, Janice threw a forearm into Chuck's face, also splitting his lip. But Chuck didn't let go. He used his weight advantage to keep Janice pinned to the bed._

_Finally, Janice calmed enough to regain some awareness of the situation. "Let me go," she said._

_"No way," Chuck said. "Not until you cool down."_

_Any other person would have been in serious trouble. Because, naturally, Janice could have gotten out of that bed. But even in her rage she wasn't willing to do the damage to Chuck that it would have required._

_At that point, Sarah came running into the room. Or more appropriately, waddled into the room. Seeing Chuck struggle to contain Janice, she took her cuffs and quickly attached Janice to the bed. Once she was confident that Janice was secure she pulled Chuck off of her and to his feet._

"_Get Ellie," Chuck said as he kneeled down to where Elise lay bleeding. She was just beginning to regain full consciousness. "Elise is hurt."_

_

* * *

_

Ellie put the ice pack gently on Elise's lip. "I really don't think any of your teeth are damaged," she said. And your pupils look fine. Your lip will heal without any stitches. Are you dizzy at all?"

"_No," Elise said. "I just got my bell rung. She caught me pretty good with a couple. I'm fine." Chuck quickly helped her to her feet._

"_You can take some aspirin if you're hurting," Ellie said. "Otherwise, I think you're going to be fine."_

"_What in the world happened in here?" Sarah said sharply._

_There was silence for a long moment. "She slept with Casey," Janice finally sobbed._

_Elise took the icepack from her lip and threw it at Janice as hard as she could. It barely missed her head and exploded as it hit the wall behind her. "I did NOT sleep with Casey, you jackass," she shouted. "How stupid are you anyway? I couldn't sleep with him even if I wanted to. The moron is in love with you. I was just over there telling him that you weren't cheating on him. I was just trying to help you." Elise shouted over her shoulder as she stomped out of the room. "Don't worry – I'll never try to help you again."_

_

* * *

_

They all just left Janice alone, cuffed to the bed, for a long while. Finally, Chuck came into the room. "Are you calm?" he asked.

_Janice looked at the icepack that Chuck was holding to the side of his face. "Let me see your lip," she said._

_Chuck took the icepack off. Actually, it was a minor cut and the swelling was already almost gone. In the morning, there would be no trace._

_But Janice looked at Chuck like he was lying on his deathbed. "I'm so sorry," she whispered._

"_What is with you tonight?" Chuck asked. "You're making it very hard to love you when you act like this."_

_The tears that Janice had resisted until now came pouring out. "I know," she said. "This is the worst night of my life. I don't blame you for not loving me."_

_Janice was not prepared for Chuck's reaction. He reached over and grabbed Janice by the shoulder and shook her angrily. "Listen to me," he said sharply. "There is nothing you could ever do to make me stop loving you. I just said that you're making it hard tonight. Do you understand the difference?"_

_Janice just looked at him sadly._

"_Damn it, Janice," Chuck said. "We're so far past this. I never want to hear you say anything like that again. Now if you promise to stay calm, I'll uncuff you. You owe Elise a big apology."_

_Janice looked at Chuck with the tears still streaming down her face. "Could I please have a hug?" she asked._

"_Absolutely," Chuck said. "Just for future reference, that's a question that you never have to ask."_

_

* * *

_

Elise was at the kitchen table. She was trying to drink a cup of tea and at the same time keep the icepack on her lip, which made her look pretty foolish. So when she noticed Chuck and Janice come in, she quickly sat down the tea.

"_Chuck," Janice said. "Could you please give us a minute?"_

_Chuck looked at Elise expectantly. When she nodded, he left without comment._

"_Elise," Janice said as she sat down across the table from her. "I'm really sorry. It's not an excuse but I'm a little crazy right now."_

_Elise couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "I'd say that you were a lot crazy," she said. "And speaking of crazy, he is – about you. And he's afraid that you're going to leave him."_

_To say that Janice was exasperated was an understatement. "I would never leave him," she sighed. "I don't know where he's even getting that from. But see, this is where I get a little crazy. I'm jealous of you. I always have been. You have a connection with him that I just don't have."_

"_See," Elise said gently. "That… right there. What you just said. That's the whole problem. You can't see it?"_

_Janice just shrugged her shoulders sadly._

"_Come on, Janice," Elise said. "Seriously -- you have a blind spot. Just like he does. Casey and I are polar opposites. He likes me, I guess. Considers me a friend. Hell, if you weren't around I could probably even get him into bed now and then. And I hope that you won't kick me again but there was a time when I probably would have enjoyed that. But, Janice, what he feels about you is at a whole different level. Right now, he is just as panicked as you are. And that's the problem. You are too much alike. Neither of you will actually talk about your feelings."_

"_I'm not sure that's true," Janice said. "We say that we love each other – well sometimes."_

_Elise just laughed. "I'm sorry, Janice," she said. "I'm not laughing at you. Well maybe I am a little. But you just don't get it. He doesn't need to hear that you love him. He knows that. He needs to hear that you like him. That's what he is questioning."_

"_That's crazy," Janice said. "He knows how I feel about him."_

"_I don't think so," Elise said. "And I'll prove it to you. Answer me a question. What was the reason why you last got pissed at Casey?"_

_Janice thought for a while. "Well," she finally said. "It sounds sort of petty. But he always puts my makeup stuff away in the bathroom. That means I have to unpack it again every single morning."_

"_Okay," Elise said. "Now we're getting somewhere. It is petty but that annoys you, right? But answer me this -- is it something that would cause you to leave him or seek out another man?"_

"_Of course not."_

"_And, tell me," Elise said. "Have you told him that it pisses you off when he does that?"_

"_No," Janice said. "That would embarrass me. It seems petty."_

"_But I bet you react, at some level, right?" Elise asked. "Don't you think that Casey is perceptive enough to know that you're not happy about something? Don't you think that he wonders why? And don't you think that he might assume it is bigger and more fundamental than where your makeup is in the bathroom?"_

"_Maybe," Janice said as the blush started up her neck. "But if that's true, why wouldn't he say something?"_

"_Because Casey is just like you," Elise said with a grin. "He'll never ask you about it. He knows that you're not happy. He just doesn't know why. So he worries. And when he worries, he talks himself into all kinds of crazy things that aren't true. Just like you do. So when he sees you in a bar, flirting with a strange man -- which was really stupid, by the way -- what is he going to think?"_

_Now the blush was well into Janice's face._

"_I have twenty bucks that says that Casey has no clue that putting your makeup away bothers you," Elise said. "I bet he thinks he's doing you a favor. I bet he'd gladly stop. And even if he didn't want too, I bet you could find a fun way to compromise with him somehow."_

_Janice just blushed even further._

"_So let's go," Elise said as she stood up. "I'll drive you over and you two can talk… and… compromise."_

"_It's two in the morning," Janice said. "He'll be sleeping."_

"_Trust me," Elise said. "He is not sleeping. I don't see him ever sleeping again until you guys talk. And let's face it, neither will you."_

_Janice looked at the table for a long moment. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she finally asked. "I've been such a bitch to you."_

"_Easy," Elise said. "I've never been part of a team before. I really like it. I don't want to lose it. And, Janice, I admire you. When you're not kicking me in the face, that is. I'd really like it if we could be friends. I don't have any friends. And I'm really hoping that you will work with me on some skills. And the fact is you two are kinda cute together. And it's a shame that you're both miserable for absolutely no reason."_

* * *

"_Trust me," Elise said as they walked up the courtyard. "He is not mad. He's frustrated. He's worried. But you're going to fix that. You don't need me."_

"_I'm not so sure," Janice said. "He sounded pretty mad. Please, just come in with me for a minute? Maybe just until we start talking. Right now, I'll just start crying. And that won't do anybody any good."_

_Elise sighed. "Fine," she said. "But just until you start talking. Okay? I need to get back home and into bed. We have a mission tonight."_

_But when Elise started towards the door, she felt Janice grab her wrist. When she turned towards Janice, she could plainly see the tears._

"_I'm…" Janice stammered. "Umm… I'm… Elise, I'm really not a bad person," she finally choked out. "I'm not. I'm just messed up right now. I don't know what I'm supposed to do and I'm blowing it. I can't lose him."_

_Elise stepped up to Janice and wrapped her arms around her. "You're not blowing it, sweetie," she said. "There isn't much that you could do to blow it at this point. He's in love. And, Janice, I know that this is hard for you. But I promise, if you will walk into that door and say those exact words to him, you'll be in bed in 3.6 seconds."_

"_Do you really think so?" Janice asked._

_Elise smiled. "No, sweetie," she said. "I don't think so -- I'm absolutely positive."_

_Janice tightened her drip on Elise. "You do realize," she said. "How much I hate being called sweetie."_

"_I know," Elise said. "But hey, I've done a lot of hard relationship work tonight. I should get to have a little fun – don't you think?"_

"_Goodnight, Elise," Janice whispered. "Thanks… for everything."_

"_Goodnight, sweetie," Elise said with a grin as she broke the embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

"_Thirteen hundred sharp," Janice said. "Report to the training room in sweats. We'll start to work on those skills – academy style."_

"_Yes, ma'am," Elise said._

_Janice couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Be careful what you wish for, rookie," she said. "Ask Chuck."_

_Elise's smile turned puzzled._

"_I bet you'll never call me sweetie again."_

* * *

"So," Chuck said. "I assume that Janice went in there and they worked it out. So actually, some good things came out of this. Janice and Elise are so close now that it's hard to believe. It's good that Janice has a friend who understands her."

"And Elise has really improved," Sarah said with a grin.

"And you and Ellie worked some stuff out," Chuck said. "That had to feel good."

"It did," Sarah said. "It felt great. We still had some work to do with Devon and Ellie. But even that worked out. Thanks to Elise."

"Elise had quite a night," Chuck said. "Didn't she?"

"She was amazing," Sarah agreed. "Without her that night would have been a disaster."

"I wonder what happened that night with Casey and Janice," Chuck said. "Did Janice ever tell you any specifics?"

Sarah smiled at Chuck and leaned over to kiss him. "She told me," Sarah said as she began to kiss her way down Chuck's neck. "More than I really wanted to know." Once Sarah reached his stomach, she looked up at him with a sly grin. "I could tell you about it. But I think I would rather show you."

As Sarah continued, Chuck closed his eyes and gasped. "You're right about one thing," he mumbled. "Kate is never going to hear this part of the story."


	7. The Lesson

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Elise may not be the best super agent that ever lived. But you don't want on her bad side. See how Ellie learns that lesson. And being on her good side can actually be nice. Right Devon?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Lesson**

* * *

Chuck knew that he was beginning to establish a routine with Kate. For one thing, he no longer felt the need to count her fingers and toes every morning. After all, that was some progress. And even the changing of the diaper was becoming more routine. Chuck was still upset with that parenting class Ellie had made them take. Sure, they showed you how to change a diaper. But that was the easy part. It turned out that diaper was underneath a mass of confusing layers of – well – what could only loosely be called clothes. But they were like no clothes that Chuck had ever seen before. Each layer had its own confusing system of folds and interlocking snaps. It was far more complex than taking apart computers. And if you messed up a computer, you didn't have to listen to the heartbreaking sound of your daughter screaming.

So Chuck was just enjoying the routine. He loved to watch baby Kate take her bottle. To say that he loved it… well… that wasn't even close. It was overwhelming. He loved everything about it. He loved how she would get a little annoyed as he would change her diaper. And even though she was months away from saying her first words, she had established a very clear way of saying 'I'm hungry'. He loved the way that she would lie there with her eyes only half open while she took the bottle. But most of all, he loved the way that her eyes would light up in recognition when he walked into the room. If that didn't melt you, you needed to check your pulse – you were probably dead.

Chuck was just sitting there watching Kate eat when he felt Sarah side in next to him and rest her head on his shoulder.

"Have you started the story yet?" she asked.

"No," Chuck said. "I'm just watching for a while. She's so perfect."

But there was something in Chuck's voice that wasn't quite right. "What's wrong, sweetie?" she whispered.

Chuck thought for a moment and sighed. "She's been sleeping longer and longer," he said wistfully. "Pretty soon she will be sleeping through the night."

"I know," Sarah said. "That will be great."

"I guess," Chuck said. "But I'm going to miss this. This has been our time together."

Sarah smiled as she lifted her head to look at him. _How sweet was this? _"That's so cute," she said. "But Chuck, that's the deal, isn't it? Every day we're helping baby Kate grow. And that means that, little by little, she is going to be doing more and more things on her own. Today, it's sleeping through the night. Tomorrow, it will be feeding herself. Soon she'll be going on her first date. Letting go is a parent's job. That's the way it should be. The only way for Kate to grow into the person that we want her to be is for us to let go… gradually, over years, a single thing at a time… let go."

Chuck looked at Sarah in amazement. "Wow," he finally said. "That was amazing. I'm so impressed with you. Since when did you turn into this parenting supermom?"

Sarah reached up to gently kiss him. "I live with a genius," she said with a grin. "Something was bound to rub off sometime."

Chuck sighed. "You're right," he said. "We have to let go. But it's hard."

"Don't worry, sweetie," Sarah said. "We don't have to let go all at once. We'll make sure that you get some alone time with Kate. She needs that just as much as you do. How about you take her in the mornings while I work out with Janice and Elise? That would help me."

"You're going to start working out?" Chuck asked. "Their workouts are pretty intense. I watched them a couple of times." It was true. He watched… and even that made him tired. "Are you sure that you're up to that?"

"I'm sure," Sarah said. "The day that Janice or Elise can out exercise me hasn't arrived yet. It's time that I got back into my jeans."

"Sarah," Chuck said. "You just had a baby. Maybe you should wait a few more weeks. Especially if you're doing this for me. Because, you don't have too. I think you look great."

Sarah knew better than to try and deny that it was for him. He knew her too well. So she just lifted her head to kiss him – this time perhaps not so gently. The first tip off was when she put her hand behind Chuck's head to hold him in place. But the main clue was her tongue sliding past his lips. "Thanks," she said with a grin when the long kiss finally broke. "But you deserve it. Besides, I saw how you were looking at Elise the other night. I'd better get back into shape or who knows what will happen."

Sarah saw the horror on Chuck's face. "You know that I'm just teasing," she said quickly. "I know that your love for me is not based on my looks. But I want to look good for you. It's important to me. So quit arguing with me and start telling the story, okay? Otherwise Kate is going to witness something that I don't think you want her to witness."

Chuck's head snapped around to look at Sarah. _Please, God… let her be kidding_. But kidding or not, he knew that tone. And he was smart enough to shut up. Besides, he didn't want to do anything to lose that sparkle in her eyes. It had been too rare lately.

"I'm looking forward to this part," Sarah said. "I don't think I ever heard what exactly happened with Elise and Devon that night. Is this going to mess up my good mood?"

Chuck just laughed. "I think you'll be fine," he said. "But I think you might be a little surprised. Maybe we won't tell Ellie this story for a few months. She might not see the humor for a while…"

_

* * *

_

Elise took a huge sigh of relief when she saw Janice actually open the door and go inside. Her good deed for the day was complete. She knew that it would only be a matter of a few seconds before they were into some serious makeup sex. Hmmm, makeup sex after a fight about makeup. That was a new one. But it was so obvious. To everybody really. Those two were completely into each other.

_So Elise was just ready to head for her car and home for some much deserved beauty sleep when she saw Devon walk into the courtyard. Actually walk was a little generous. He obviously had been drinking. Elise debated with herself over getting involved. After all, she really didn't know Devon or Ellie that well. And sometimes, getting involved backfires. Elise had just made up her mind to let this one go. But then something happened. She caught his eye… and saw the pain. Nobody should have to hurt like that… especially over a stupid misunderstanding._

_So she took a deep sigh and put the smile back on her face. "Hello, Devon," she said. "Nice night, huh?"_

"_What happened to your lip?" Devon asked. His words were pretty slurred. But even drunk he was thinking like a doctor. And a nice guy doctor, at that. "Let me take a look at it."_

_Elise grinned. "That's sweet," she said. "But Ellie already looked at it. And, no offense, Devon -- but I'm not sure that I want you to practice medicine on me right now. You're kinda… relaxed, if you know what I mean. I would like to talk though… if you're up to it."_

_Devon clearly wanted company. "Would you like a drink?" he asked. "Come in and I'll make us a drink."_

_Elise debated with herself how to play this. The same scam that she had just played with Casey would probably work. But then again, it just might backfire. He was drunk and hurting. If he decided to go for it… not good... on multiple levels. So she allowed Devon to lead her into the apartment._

"_What do you want to drink?" Devon asked._

"_I'll tell you what," Elise said. "Why don't you sit down here at the table and I'll make us some coffee?" Fortunately, she had been there enough times and seen Ellie enough to know where to find things. The fact that Devon didn't argue told her that he realized that drinking wasn't the answer. It's just that he was hurting._

_And Elise had to admit, Devon was an amazing male specimen. He was perhaps the most attractive man she had ever seen. And sitting there looking all vulnerable... it was a huge turn on. "Nope," she said firmly to herself. "Can't go there. Can't go there. Can't go there."_

"_So, Devon," Elise said as she set his coffee in front of him. "Why so sad? You know that Ellie was not cheating on you."_

_Devon cautiously took a sip of his coffee. "I know," he said. "But she isn't satisfied. She is clearly curious. And now she is being forced to go on a date with this guy. Who knows what is going to happen."_

"_Nothing is going to happen," Elise said soothingly. "Janice is going to be with her. They are going to be at a public restaurant. Chuck is going to be monitoring the whole thing. Sarah is going to be talking her through it. Do you really think they would let anything happen?"_

"_I guess not," Devon admitted._

"_Of course not," Elise said. "And Devon, of course she is curious. She's human. Who wouldn't be? That has nothing to do with you really. It's just something that couples don't talk about much. But you're just as curious sometimes… admit it."_

"_Okay," Devon said. "But I don't rub it in Ellie's face."_

_Elise almost felt a little guilty for what she was about to do. After all, she liked Ellie. Not only that, as a woman she felt a kinship to her. And she was about to totally serve her up. But, what the hell? Devon had a point. She had just rubbed his face in it. Even though she probably hadn't meant to, she had. She probably needed to pay some price. "You know, Devon," Elise said. "I think that you might be taking the narrow view here. There may be some way to use this to your advantage."_

_The way that Devon's head shot up told Elise that she had his attention. "What do you mean?" he asked._

_Elise laughed at how suddenly sober Devon appeared. _Sorry Ellie – I guess I'm going to hell._ "Come on, Devon," she said softly. "You're a smart guy. Ellie loves you. She knows that she messed up. She also knows that she hurt you. And she feels terrible about it. She would do almost anything to make it up to you. Why don't you take her up on that? You might just enjoy it."_

"_What do you think I should do?" Devon asked as a grin came to his face._

"_Well, Devon," Elise said with an evil grin. "That is totally up to you. But there must be something that you have in your mind. Something that maybe you've never told her about. She was interested in Janice's story of being a seductress. That means becoming the mark's dream girl. Of fulfilling his every fantasy. Surely, she wouldn't refuse you that, would she? Especially since she feels so guilty."_

"_So," Devon said. "You think that I should manipulate her? I don't want to do anything to damage our relationship."_

"_Manipulate is such an ugly word," Elise said. "I think that you should give her what she thinks that she wants. Trust me, once she realizes what it is really like, she won't want it anymore. So it's a win-win. She learns a valuable lesson in a way that just talking about it would never do. She works off her guilt with you. And you get a wild night. Works for me."_

_"But how would I go about this?" Devon said. "I'm not sure what to do."_

_Okay, now Elise had to admit – she was starting to enjoy this. For better or for worse, she was all in. "Don't worry," she said. "You just think of your wildest fantasy. Take a few days. You can tell me or, if you're too embarrassed, write it down. I'll give Ellie her assignment and make sure that she thinks that it's real. I'll prep the situation and make sure that she is properly… umm… briefed." Now she was dying to find out the details of what he would come up with. But the sparkle in his eye told her that he already had something of an idea in mind. "Leave it all up to me. There is only one small problem."_

"_What's that?" Devon asked._

_Elise grinned. "I'm surely going to hell."_

_Devon__ grinned back. "Not if I have anything to say about it."_

_Elise couldn't help but feel great at the change in Devon's mood. At least he would sleep tonight. That was a good thing, right? But still… there was that nagging feeling. Yup, definitely… straight to hell._

* * *

"Oh my God," Sarah whispered with a grin. "So that is what Elise has in mind for tomorrow. That's why she insisted that Ellie go shopping with her. Janice must be in on this too. What are they going to make her do?"

"There are some things that I just don't want to know," Chuck said. "We are talking about my sister, after all. But it must be pretty wild. They have been planning it for weeks. Tomorrow is just the setup. They have kept you out of it because they weren't sure how you would feel. Janice is reluctantly in. Casey is kinda making her. That's her final punishment for the bar fiasco. Actually, I think that Casey is looking forward to this more than Devon is… and Devon can't wait. Casey and Devon have really become close friends over this. So some honest good came out of a bad situation."

"Chuck," Sarah said with a concerned tone. "They wouldn't do anything to really humiliate or hurt her, would they?"

"Don't worry," Chuck said quickly. "You know that I would never be okay with that. Devon honestly loves her. I never realized how much until this happened. He would never do anything to actually hurt her. It is only going to be Devon and Ellie. It's just that Ellie won't know that it's Devon for a while. You're not going to ruin this for him, are you?"

"No way," Sarah said with a laugh. "I love Ellie. But this will be a good lesson for her. Too bad they aren't going to tape it. I would love to see the look on her face."

"Umm…" Chuck said. "There may be some tape produced. But I'm pretty sure that you're not going to want to see it."

"Oh my God," Sarah said. "I have so underestimated Elise."

"Maybe," Chuck laughed. "I think that maybe she's watched True Lies one too many times."

"Wow," Sarah laughed. "She is more devious and cunning then I would have ever thought. I'm so impressed. Is Ellie going to be pissed when she finds out?"

"I don't know," Chuck said thoughtfully. "Maybe at first. But once she realizes what really happened, hopefully not. Because it's true that Devon is getting something he wants out of this… but they are really doing it for her. That's the only way Janice and I would allow it to happen."

Sarah reached over and gently stroked Kate's hair as she continued eating. "Wow, sweetie," she said. "I really hope you're paying attention. There is a valuable lesson to be learned here…"

Kate actually stopped sucking for a moment. Probably coincidence. But it was almost like she was pausing to listen to what her mommy was saying.

"Aunt Janice might get you in trouble," Sarah said with a grin. "But Aunt Elise will mess with you."


	8. The Date

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_It turns out to be quite an exciting day for the Bartowskis… on several levels._

_Umm, I hesitate to mention this. Because I don't like it when authors plead for reviews. But my last chapter got about 1/4th the number of reviews as usual. So I'm curious. Is the story not engaging?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Date**

- - - -

General Beckman hardly ever drank at the office. And technically, it was well after normal business hours. So a cocktail wouldn't be inappropriate at all. But still… this seemed like the day for it. They were no closer to catching Adam Colson than ever. And even worse, time was running out. He was getting closer and closer to finding them. And that would mean…

Beckman didn't even want to think about it. But Janice… it would mean Janice. And she felt guilty about thinking about it in those terms. She liked and admired the whole team. And, if she was really truthful, it was even more than that. But Janice… She had to admit that the thought of her in mortal danger made the acid in her stomach churn. And the worst part was they hadn't spoken in weeks. Not since she was forced to dress Janice down after the bar incident.

Not that the General felt bad about that. She didn't… at all. Janice had that coming. And Beckman had always been able to compartmentalize her different relationships with Janice. But, she had to admit. She hoped that Janice was okay.

Her Chief of Staff, one Major Collins, sat uneasily across the table from her. He had his own drink in his hand. And while this may not have been the most formal of settings, you never really got comfortable with General Beckman.

"Tell me," Beckman said. "How long do we reasonably have before we're forced to make a decision?"

Collins took a deep breath before answering. "That's hard to say, ma'am," he replied. "It will likely be several months before Colson can acquire their location."

"Have we discovered any more bodies?" Beckman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Collins replied sadly. "I'm afraid so. Colson is working his way up the personnel chain. So far, that means very low level personnel who have no knowledge of the intersect project. But each time, he is working his way up. It's only a matter of time before he finds someone with real knowledge."

Beckman said the words, hoping they could be true -- even though she really didn't believe them. "But at least we still have a few months," she said. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Yes, ma'am…" Collins said.

Beckman had worked with Collins long enough to know that there was something that he wasn't saying. And she also knew why. Her reputation for shooting the messenger was pretty famous. So she knew that she would have to ask him. "Its okay, Jim," she said with as much smile as she could muster. "Go ahead and tell me the bad news."

"Yes, ma'am," Collins said. "It's just that Colson has been the intersect for over six months now. He's learned how to utilize it effectively. If Mr. Bartowski is going to have any chance against him, he'll need some time to get control of the 2.0 features before they face each other."

Even though Beckman had already guessed that was coming, it still hit her. Chuck becoming the 2.0 intersect would mean that the side effects would kick in. "How long?" she asked.

"The longer the better, ma'am," Collins replied. "Bartowski will have an advantage in that we'll be able to brief him on the capabilities. Colson had to learn on his own. But it would be best if he could send Mr. Bartowski on a couple of missions so he could utilize the features in the field. I would say a minimum of two months. And it would be best if the missions were… umm… intimate. That way he could get some experience with… umm… with…"

Beckman could see that he didn't want to say it. So she said it for him. "I understand, Jim" she finally said. "You mean the sexual aggressiveness."

"Yes, ma'am," Collins said softly. "He'll need to learn how to handle it."

This was going to be tricky. Depending on how hard the side effects hit, this could destroy the team. There was only one possibility… Janice. If they could get Chuck and Janice on an undercover mission for a couple of weeks… perhaps Janice could keep the details from the rest of the team. That would be in everybody's best interest… especially Sarah's. That might actually work. But it was going to be hard… on both Chuck and Janice. It was definitely a last resort type option. Unfortunately it was looking more and more like it was the only one. "Okay," Beckman sighed. "Let's wait for one more month. Then we'll make the decision."

- - - -

Sarah was far to excited about the news of the scam that they were playing on Ellie to pay much attention to the rest of the story. It was perfect. A mission that required the skills that only CIA agents could pull off. Yet there was no real danger. Fortunately, Chuck knew exactly how to get back her attention. The kiss actually lasted a couple of beats longer than he had planned. And to be honest, he enjoyed it a bit more than he had planned. But – he had her attention again.

"Okay, Kate," he said. "This is the part of the story that you might actually remember."

Sarah suddenly had an epiphany. "Oh my goodness," she said. "I always wondered why Casey was so mean to Ellie. He was just building up her guilt. He was setting her up for the scam."

"Yup," Chuck said. "Don't worry. He'll make it up to her after it's over."

"One thing is for sure," Sarah said with a soft smile. "I will never forget that day as long as I live. First off, I had to talk Ellie through a date with another man. I was so mad at Janice…"

- - - -

_"Do I really have to wear this dress?" Ellie asked. "I feel naked. It's bad enough that I have to go on this stupid date. Do I really have to dress like a slut? I feel like my boobs are getting ready to plop out on the table."_

_"Sorry," Janice said. "I'm trying to hook up with my guy. And we have to dress similarly. We don't want you to stand out. Besides… you look incredible."_

"_Yeah," Casey said with a smirk. "Better to plop out than stand out. Besides, look at the bright side. He can't go to second base. There's no room for a hand to fit in there."_

"_You're sure that Devon is never going to see this?" Ellie asked as she flashed Casey a dirty look. "He is upset with me enough as it is."_

_Casey turned away. "Devon has already seen enough, don't you think?"_

_Sarah flashed her own dirty look at Casey and put on her most professional demeanor. What was Casey doing? The last thing they needed right now was to mess with Ellie's head. "Agent Walters will be keeping Devon under close contact this evening," she said. "She will be dressed appropriately in case we have an opportunity to make a switch tonight. On your mission this evening, Agent Beckman will conduct all of the infiltration activity. You're role is to remain calm, yet reserved. I'll be in constant contact with you all evening. At the appropriate time, you will feint an illness. I would recommend a headache. Agent Beckman will then pull her mark aside and attempt to make a date for the next evening substituting Agent Walters. If she is successful, your mission will be completed."_

"_Why is it Elise that is with Devon?" Ellie asked suspiciously. "She's going to be dressed like this?"_

"_Agent Walters is the one least vital this evening," Sarah said. "Agent Casey will provide tactical support in case we need to forcibly extract you. Agent Bartowski is required in case we run into anybody unexpected that we might need to identify."_

_After a moment, Ellie pulled Sarah aside. "Sarah," she said. "Are you still angry with me? You're acting very short."_

"_No, Ellie," Sarah said. "I'm not angry with you. This is a mission. It is serious business. This is how I act on a mission. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little for your benefit. But these men are dangerous. You can't lose focus for an instant. Otherwise, your boobs aren't going to be the only thing plopping out of that dress tonight. Do you understand?"_

_Ellie sighed deeply. "Yes, Sarah," she said. "I understand. Be honest with me. What's going to happen tonight?"_

_Sarah tried to calm Ellie down. "Nothing is going to happen," she said. "Because we aren't going to let it happen. But I'll not lie to you. These mob guys aren't known for their patience with women. And he thinks this is your second date. He is going to expect that this evening will end with you naked in his bed. That's why it's important that you have a crushing headache at the restaurant. You'll never make it back to his place."_

_Ellie looked up at Sarah with a resigned look. "So what's up with Casey?" she asked. "I thought we were friends."_

"_You are friends," Sarah said. "But guys stick together, Ellie. You know that. Maybe he just feels like he should be sticking up for Devon. I wouldn't worry about it. Concentrate on your mission. Trust me, I'll deal with Casey."_

- - - -

_Elise could tell that Devon was nervous from the very second that she stepped into the apartment. Of course, it didn't take a spy's increased senses. Anybody could have guessed that Devon was nervous._

_Elise could feel his eyes on her – checking her out from head to toe. And for a second she was actually starting to get a little flushed. If he was really going to put the moves on… But then he spoke – and that thought quickly vanished._

"_Is that the way that Ellie is dressed?" he asked._

_That's when Elise realized what he was concerned about. And she also realized that this was the first time she had even been in seduction garb in front of Devon. Maybe she could relax him by teasing him a little. So she put a fake pout on her face. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" she asked with mock indignation. "Don't you like it?"_

_Elise was having a hard time believing that a brilliant surgeon, especially one who was as good looking as Devon, wouldn't be very used to women flirting with him. But he sure didn't seem to be. Or was this shy thing just an act? Was he really playing her? If it was a play, then it was a damned good one. The blush that was traveling up his neck was very cute. It was cute enough that if Devon had been a guy in a bar, she would have been in full attack mode. It was so cute that Elise had to repeat to herself her own mission rules for tonight. Don't go there. You cannot go there._

"_Oh my goodness," Devon said. "I'm sorry. You're gorgeous. I didn't mean that. It's just…"_

_It was funny. Devon was so awkward that Elise suddenly decided that he was exactly as he seemed -- a nice guy who was worried about the prospect of his fiancé on a date with another guy. It was so genuine that it actually popped whatever balloon of attraction that Elise had building for him. After all, nice guys were not her type. Not at all. Elise was actually relieved. This situation was already complex enough without some stupid sexual tension. And it could never happen anyway. So she laughed. "Come on, Devon," she said. "I was just teasing. Aren't you going to offer me a drink?"_

- - - -

_The date wasn't going that well. Actually that wasn't exactly true. As a date, it was going quite well. The men were obviously interested. And it was clear – Janice and Ellie were firmly on the fast path to getting lucky tonight. They were certainly in the right place – with the right guys._

_It was as a CIA mission where circumstances left something to be desired. The first rule of any mission was to control the venue. And that was right out the window from the first minute that they met at the bar. Everyone was expecting that they would simply go to a restaurant. No one expected being taken to an apartment for a home cooked meal. And frankly, it had the agents in the van more than a little spooked. Well, Chuck mostly. He wanted to abort. And that led to pretty much a shouting match between him and Casey._

"_We have to abort," Chuck said. "Ellie is not an agent. She didn't sign up for this. He'll have her naked before the leftovers are cold."_

"_Come on, moron," Casey said. "We have no way to abort. What are we supposed to do? Go in there with guns blazing? That would blow everyone's cover."_

"_We have to do something," Chuck said franticly._

___Finally Sarah had enough. She wasn't feeling that well anyway. She was tired of being pregnant and her stomach had been upset all day. She was also tired of trying to hear what was happening over the guys arguing. So she snapped. "Shut the hell up," she said loudly as she turned her icy stare towards where they were arguing. "Both of you. We're in the middle of a mission – and it's kinda important that I be able to hear what the hell is being said. Chuck – Ellie is fine. They are eating dinner. I have this, okay?"_Chuck didn't answer. He just sat down wordlessly.

"_And you," Sarah said as she directed her glare towards Casey. "I don't know what the hell your problem is – and I don't care. I don't want to hear another word from you tonight unless you're bleeding. Am I clear?"_

- - - -

_Ellie had to admit, it was going a lot better than she feared. For one thing, she still had all of her clothes on. And Paul Leon was actually trying to be charming – for a mobster. That is when he wasn't trying to look down the front of her dress. But really, how could you blame him? It was screaming to be looked down. Ellie would have almost been offended if he hadn't looked down. Another thing that didn't hurt… Sarah was talking into her ear and telling her every single thing to do. Even to the point of when to smile. Dinner was over and they were in the living room for drinks._

_Sarah had to admit – her spy instincts had her a little uneasy. She hadn't anticipated dinner being at their apartment. That had put them on the defensive. And Sarah knew full well how this type of man acted when he felt you were on the defensive… they got aggressive. So she needed to get Ellie through this. "Okay, Ellie," Sarah said. "It's time for you to have a headache. But you're going to have to sell it. You need to make sure that he doesn't feel rejected. So, I'm afraid that you're going to have to go a little farther than we planned. Don't worry. Do everything that I say and we'll get you out of there with your clothes on."_

_But it turned out that Sarah had nothing to worry about. Ellie was quite the natural actress. She followed Sarah's instructions perfectly. She felt like a puppet – but a well prepared puppet._

_Ellie and Paul were sitting on the sofa. Ellie had no idea where Janice – the rat – had gone. She tried not to think about it. "I'm sorry, Paul," Ellie said just as Sarah had told her. "I should have told you something. I'm allergic to garlic. There must have been some garlic in the veal."_

_It was a good guess – but not really. There were cloves of garlic all over the kitchen._

"_I'm afraid so," Paul said. "Are you okay?"_

_Ellie paused for a moment to hear what Sarah was telling her. "I'm afraid not," she said. "I get terrible headaches after I eat garlic. I can feel it coming on. That's how I knew there must have been some. I'm afraid I need to leave. If you could take me back to the bar… if I can get home, take my medicine, and lie down, maybe I can keep it to a minimum."_

_Ellie could see by the tightness in Paul's jaw line that he was not pleased. Maybe Sarah was right. "I'm so sorry Paul," she said. "I was really looking forward to spending the evening with you." Then she swallowed and did what Sarah told her to do. She leaned in and kissed him. It was the first man other than Devon that she had kissed since Medical School. Sarah had already warned her so she was prepared when he opened his mouth. Sarah let the kiss go for a brief moment – just until she sensed that Paul's hand would be making its way to her chest. "I feel horrible," Ellie whispered as she broke the kiss. "I really like you. Maybe I can make it up to you?"_

_Paul didn't ask what she had in mind for a make up. That wasn't in question. He only had one thing in doubt. "When?" was his simple response._

_"I'm going out of town on business for a few days," Ellie said. "Why don't you call me when I get back? We'll do anything that you want. I'll definitely make sure that you have a good time."_

_Sarah knew that she needed to slow Ellie down. "Careful," she said. "This is a bad guy. Don't make promises that you aren't willing to keep."_

- - - -

_Sarah looked over at Casey and Chuck. Chuck looked white as a ghost. Casey just had a smirk on his face. For the moment she ignored them. She picked up her phone and dialed Elise. "We're making the switch," she said crisply. "You're in. Janice set you up."_

"_I assume that this guy is… on edge," Elise said._

"_That would be an excellent assumption," Sarah said. "You have ten minutes to be at O'Leary's."_

_As soon as Sarah ended the call, she turned to Chuck and Casey. "If Devon ever hears a word of what happened tonight, the next time that either of you have sex again, you'll need to take a refresher course first to remember what to do. Am I clear?"_

_Neither man responded. Chuck just looked shaken… while Casey looked grim._

_Sarah was in no mood to mess around. "I asked you a question," she barked. "Trust me… I can make that happen."_

_Finally Chuck found his voice. "Yes, Sarah," he said. "You're being very clear."_

- - - -

_And actually, the switch worked out quite smoothly. Janice had obviously told Paul about Elise. And he was also quite obviously interested in finding out more on his own. Ellie said her goodnight and left the bar as soon as they arrived. Paul gave her a short peck. He had clearly mentally moved on._

_As soon as Ellie got into the van, Sarah took out her earpiece and stood up. "Let's go, Ellie," she said. "I'll take you home."_

"_What about the guys?" Ellie asked._

"_They have to stay and backup Janice and Elise," Sarah said. "Let's go."_

_As soon as they were in the car, Sarah turned to Ellie. "You did really great tonight," she said. "Really great. I'm very proud of you."_

_But Ellie really didn't respond. "What should I tell Devon," she finally said softly. "Is this going to hurt us?"_

_"That's up to you," Sarah said as she reached over in the darkness to grab her hand. "Nothing really happened. You have no need to feel guilty at all. You kissed him for about two seconds… and you had no choice. Devon would understand that. But you also don't have to tell him anything. I've already told the guys not to say anything."_

"_Would Chuck understand?" Ellie asked._

_Sarah couldn't help but laugh. "Ellie," she said. "Chuck has seen ten times worse than that. Yes. He would understand."_

_Ellie squeezed her hand. "Thank you for the support tonight," she said. "I wouldn't have made it without you."_

"_You know that I love you," Sarah said. "I wouldn't have been any other place tonight."_

"_I know," Ellie whispered. "But thank you anyway. I love you too."_

_Ellie felt Sarah's grip strengthen. It was much firmer than it should have been. "Sweetie," she said. "What's wrong?"_

"_Oh my god," Sarah said. "Ellie, I think I just had a contraction."_

_Ellie laughed. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "It's common to have a single contraction. Nothing to be concerned about. You still have three weeks to go. If you were actually going into labor, you would most likely feel some sign… like an upset stomach."_

_But about ten minutes later, Sarah squeezed her hand again. "Ellie…" she said._

"_Don't worry," Ellie said. "A couple of contractions don't matter."_

"_You don't understand," Sarah said. "There's more."_

_There was something in Sarah's voice that caused Ellie to turn and look at her closely._

"_I think that my water just broke."_

- - - -


	9. Hard Labor

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Sarah is in labor. But Chuck is on a mission. Will he make it in time to see his daughter being born? And will Sarah be happy?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Hard Labor**

- - - -

They say that newborn babies don't smile. That it is always just gas. But Sarah knew that look on Kate's face as she lay on Chuck's lap. There was zero question in her mind. That was a smile.

"Okay, Kate," Chuck said. "Now comes the exciting part of the story. It was your birthday."

Sarah leaned over and kissed Kate. And if there was any question before about her smile, there was none now. "You were a little early," Sarah said with a laugh as she kissed Kate again. "And, sweetie, you scared the life out of us..."

- - - -

_The light had turned green several seconds ago. But Sarah hadn't moved. The car behind her showed remarkable patience… for about two seconds. Then he hit the horn._

_Sarah turned to Ellie in near panic. "What should I do?" she asked._

"_Well first, sweetie," Ellie said. "Calm down. There is no reason to panic. Next, it might be a good idea to move out of the intersection."_

"_Where should I go?" Sarah asked. "The hospital?"_

_Ellie smiled at Sarah and grabbed her hand again. "Eventually," she said. "But we have lots of time. We're almost to my place. Let's go there and get in my car. I'll drive you home to pick up your bag and then we can go to the hospital."_

_Sarah grimaced as another contraction hit just as she was pulling into the parking lot. "How long was that?" she asked._

"_Eleven minutes and some change," Ellie said._

"_Isn't it too soon to go to the hospital?" Sarah said as she pulled next to where Ellie's car was parked._

"_Normally, yes," Ellie said as she got out of Sarah's car and took her spot behind the wheel. "But once your water breaks, we need to get that baby out of there. The fluid protects the baby. And once it's gone, there is too big of a chance for infection."_

"_Ellie," Sarah said. "What are you saying?"_

"_It's pretty obvious," Ellie said with a grin. "One way or another, I'm going to be an aunt tonight."_

- - - -

_Chuck and Casey were now stuck in the van until Janice and Elise were done with their assignment. And that didn't look to be happening any time soon. The two couples had grabbed a table at the bar. It was clear that the guys were trying to get the girls drunk. Little did they know that Elise and Janice could drink a sailor under the table. But drinking someone under the table takes time._

_Casey yawned as he listened to the boring conversation. This was getting ridiculous. Especially since there was almost no chance of them being needed. They were obviously in that bar for the rest of the evening. And what could possibly happen in a public bar? But, as long as the girls were… engaged, they were stuck there – no matter how boring and useless it was. It was so boring that he finally actually preferred talking to Chuck. "What was up with Sarah tonight?" he finally said. "Who peed in her corn flakes?"_

_Chuck just looked at Casey and sighed. "She's been like that for a couple of weeks," he said. "She's really tired of being pregnant."_

"_It must really suck to be you," Casey said with a laugh._

"_I understand what she's going through," Chuck said. "But, yes… it does suck."_

- - - -

"_That was a long one," Ellie said after the contraction finally eased. They had been at the hospital for a couple of hours. And, of course, Ellie was right. They admitted her right away. Now she was lying on a bed in the labor room. "How are you doing?"_

"_I'm fine," Sarah said after she had caught her breath. "How far apart was that one?"_

"_Eight minutes," Ellie said. "I'd say that you are right on schedule. You're doing great, sweetie."_

"_Thanks,"_

"_Why hasn't Chuck called?" Ellie asked. "He should be here."_

"_Chuck is still on a mission," Sarah said. "There is no way to get a hold of him. As soon as he turns his cell phone back on, he'll get my message."_

"_He should be here," Ellie said._

"_Will you stay until he gets here?" Sarah asked._

_There was vulnerability in Sarah's voice that Ellie had never heard before. "Sweetie," she said. "You know that you don't have to ask that. You couldn't drag me out of here."_

- - - -

_Casey was waiting for it. He knew full well that it was coming. After all, this was Chuck. And it really didn't take very long at all. Not after listening to Elise… and especially Janice, flirting like crazy._

"_Tell me something," Chuck said as he listened to the latest double entendre that Janice put out there. He didn't have to see the situation to know that he had his hand on her knee – or higher. And that she was doing nothing to discourage him into going even higher. "This doesn't bother you. Be honest. It doesn't bother you just a little?"_

_Even though he knew it was coming, Casey couldn't help but groan. "No," he said. "Of course not. She's doing her job. Why would I be upset?"_

"_Well," Chuck said. "You kinda freaked out last night when your saw her in this same bar with this same man. What's so different about tonight?"_

"_First off, I did not freak out," Casey growled. "I was… concerned."_

_Chuck flashed a grin. "If you say so," he said. "But my point still remains. Why aren't you… concerned tonight? It's the same exact situation."_

"_Huh?" Casey asked. "It's not the same at all. That's not Janice in there tonight. That's Agent Beckman. She is undercover gathering intelligence that could possibly lead to the capture of a member of the Ring's inner circle. Last night it was Janice – or at least I thought it was. Tonight, I'm proud of her. Listen to her work him. On their next date, he will tell her anything that she asks. She is a genius."_

"_I understand that," Chuck said. "But that is your fiancé. Casey, it has to affect you at some level. If that was Sarah, it would sure bother me."_

"_Haven't you been listening?" Casey said. "That's not my fiancé in there. It's Agent Beckman. Stone cold, would take you to bed and then shoot you in the head without blinking, Agent Beckman. And what you have with Sarah is okay, I guess. She seems to be happy. But let's face it, Chuck. You've ended her as an effective agent. For that very reason. It bothers you when she does her job. That's why she can't do it anymore. If I want Janice to be effective, and I do, it can't bother me when she does her job. That's the deal."_

_Chuck considered that for a long moment. But then a twinkle came to his eye. "I guess that makes sense," he said. "But if you were on an island, what kind of sand…"_

"_If you finish that question," Casey growled. "I will fold you up like an accordion and stuff you in the glove compartment. Am I clear?"_

_Chuck turned away so that Casey wouldn't see the smirk on his face._

- - - -

_Ellie sat and looked at Sarah and wondered how to break the news to her. She was already clearly on the edge as it was. The last thing that Ellie wanted to do was panic her. She really needed to see Chuck. And yet, this was her daughter… she deserved to know the truth._

"_Where's Chuck?" Sarah whispered, more to herself than to Ellie. The annoyance in her voice was now plain. That last contraction had been the most intense yet. "He should be here by now."_

"_Sweetie," Ellie said. "He'll be here. Right now, I want you to listen to me. Don't worry. This is not that unusual, but there is a problem."_

_Well, that certainly got Sarah's attention._

_Ellie knew that she only had a couple of minutes before the next contraction. So she spoke quickly. "The umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's shoulder," she said. "So whenever you have a contraction, it is getting squeezed. And that is putting the baby in some distress."_

_Ellie could clearly see the panic in her eyes. "Oh no," Sarah whispered as the tears started to fill her eyes._

_Ellie knew that she needed to do something to calm her. So she grabbed Sarah's chin and forced Sarah to look into her eyes. "Listen to me," she said firmly. "This will work out fine. Earlier tonight, I was in a dangerous situation. And I'll admit, I was a little nervous. But I knew that you would get me through it. Partially because you knew what you were doing. You had expertise in the situation I was in. But mostly because I trusted that you loved me and would make sure that everything worked out. Do you understand?"_

_Sarah nodded her head as much as Ellie's hand on her chin would allow._

_Ellie couldn't help but smile. "Right now," she said. "Our situations are reversed. I know what I'm doing. And you can count on me that I love you enough to make sure that you get through this. Okay?"_

_Sarah took a deep sigh… but she finally nodded. "What are you going to do about it?" she asked._

"_For right now, nothing," Ellie said. "We're monitoring the situation. Hopefully, it won't get any worse. If it doesn't, we're going to be okay. Hopefully, she'll be out soon."_

"_What if it gets worse?" Sarah asked._

_Ellie smiled. "We'll cross that bridge if we get there," she said. "Sarah… even if you weren't my only sister. Even if I didn't love you like crazy. That's my niece. I'm going to make sure that she's healthy. You trust me, right?"_

_Sarah passed for a moment and then nodded._

"_Good," Ellie said. "I'm sending Devon to find Chuck. We need him here. You need him."_

_Sarah could feel the beginning of the next contraction. "Ellie," she said through her gritted teeth. "If Devon is coming up here, you might want to consider changing your clothes."_

_Ellie suddenly felt the blush creeping up her neck as she remembered how she was dressed. So that is why every single male member of the staff felt the need to check to see how Sarah was doing. And knowing that crowd, they probably had a poll going. Which would be the first to be out tonight – the baby? Or her boobs? Rat bastards. "Thanks, sweetie," she whispered as she reached down to kiss Sarah's head. "Good call."_

- - - -

_Casey was impressed – a little anyway. Chuck was hanging in there. After all, he wasn't used to being on stakeouts for hours at a time. And even Casey had to admit, this one was getting a little tedious. Inside the bar, things were starting to wind down. One good thing was that the men were far too drunk for any romantic activity tonight. Janice had already made a date for tomorrow. And that's when the real hard core seduction would begin._

"_This is brutal," Chuck said as he stretched his arms. "Come on, Janice. Pour these bastards in a cab and lets call it a night already."_

_Casey was actually forced to agree. But then something odd happened. There was a pounding on the van door. Even though he wasn't expecting company, Casey reacted quickly. He pushed Chuck out of the way and drew his gun. But when he cautiously opened the door he was surprised to see Devon standing there._

"_Hey Devon," he said. "I'm not sure why you're here. Ellie and Sarah left a long time ago."_

"_I know," Devon said. "I came to get Chuck. Bro, you'd better move your ass if you want to see your daughter being born. Sarah has been in labor for hours now."_

_Casey literally pushed Chuck out of the van. "I'll collect the girls," he said. "We'll come up to the hospital when we can."_

_Devon had already basically dragged Chuck to the car. "Come on, bro," he said. "We have to hurry. Don't worry. Ellie is all over this. But I want to warn you… things aren't going that well."_

- - - -

_Ellie had to admit… the scrubs she was wearing were a lot more comfortable than that slut thing that she was poured into. And there was also one added side benefit. The damn men would now leave them alone. But that was the only thing about the current situation that could be remotely called good. The contractions were at their peak. They were coming so close together that Sarah barely had time to catch her breath between them. And Ellie could see the fear in her eyes as they darted around the room… the close to panic was starting to set in._

"_How's the baby?" Sarah panted as soon as the contraction eased._

"_About the same," Ellie said. "A little worse... but still not bad enough to do anything about. She'll be out soon. Trust me, sweetie. You're doing great."_

_But it wasn't until the next contraction had reached its peak, when they finally got the break that Sarah so desperately needed. Chuck came bursting through the door. His first look was to Ellie. And she knew right away what he was thinking. So she flashed him the everything-is-okay smile._

_Sarah however, was not quite so cheerful. "Where the **** have you been?" she screamed. "If you ever even think about touching me again, I'll wait until you're sleeping… and cut it off."_

- - - -

Sarah lifted her head from Chuck's shoulder. "Thank you for editing my language," she said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Chuck said with his own grin. "That's a word that I hope Kate doesn't learn for a few years."

For some reason, Kate was still awake. She normally would have been long asleep by now. Was she actually interested in the story?

"Don't worry," Chuck said to his daughter who was lying there staring at them. She was so adorable that Chuck couldn't think about putting her down. "I know that it sounds bad. But it got a lot better… real soon."

- - - -

_Chuck finally found the time to take a breath and get his heart back to beating close to the normal range. After all, things had happened so fast. He had just gotten Sarah a little calmed down and all of a sudden they were wheeling them into the delivery room. Even though he never said anything to Sarah -- that was his tip off that there were potential problems. They were expecting to deliver the baby in their room. But it all worked out. It was only a few minutes later – well it seemed like only a few minutes anyway and they were back in their room. Only this time, he was holding his newborn daughter._

_The first thing that they did once they were alone was to check Kate over. Chuck took off her things and set her gently on Sarah's stomach. Then they proceeded to count her finger and toes. She was just starting to turn pink. No matter how many times they told you that babies come out blue until they breathe on their own, it was still a shock._

_Sarah couldn't take her eyes off Kate. "Tell me," she finally whispered. "Have you ever seen anything more perfect in your life?"_

"_Never," Chuck said. "Nothing even close."_

"_I'm sorry that I screamed at you," Sarah whispered. "That was uncalled for."_

"_It's okay," Chuck said as he leaned in to gently kiss her. "I'm sorry that I missed most of it. But if you're going to give me a gift like this, I'll take a little screaming. I'm so proud of you. I love you."_

"_I love you," Sarah said._

- - - -

"So," Chuck said as he watched Kate's eyes starting to droop. "That's the story of the time before you got here. Now you're up to date."

Sarah lifted her head and looked at Chuck like he had just grown a third eye. "You can't stop there," she said. "You're skipping the best part."

Chuck just looked at her confused.

"Ellie's revenge," Sarah said softly.

Chuck laughed as he remembered. "Oh yeah," he said. "I almost forgot. You see. Kate, Aunt Ellie wasn't too happy with Uncle Casey that night. So…"

- - - -

_Ellie knew that Chuck and Sarah needed some time alone with the baby. That's how it should be. But she was dying to get in there. So finally she could stand it no longer and poked her head inside of the room. "Can I come in?" she asked._

"_Ellie," Sarah called. "Of course. Come in and meet your niece."_

_Ellie simply couldn't keep the tears out of her eyes as she held baby Kate for the first time. The baby was incredible. She only let Devon have a very brief turn before she took Kate back from him. Ellie wasn't even sure how long she had been holding Kate – time seemed to stand still. But finally Casey, Janice, and Elise came into the room._

_Ellie knew that Janice and Elise had been drinking. So there was no way they were holding the baby. No way in hell. She did allow them to look at her while Ellie held her. and while Elise was a little disappointed, Janice seemed relieved. But Casey… he so obviously was uncomfortable. And he hadn't been drinking. And he had been a jerk earlier. He had this coming. So she did the unthinkable. She walked over to where he was standing and handed Kate to him before he could react._

_Ellie walked over to Sarah's bed and leaned over, ostensibly to kiss her cheek. "Look at him," she whispered into Sarah's ear. "Have you ever seen anyone look more panicked in your entire life?"_

_Sarah had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. It was obviously true. Casey looked like he wanted to die. He was afraid to move a muscle. So he just stood there… in the middle of the room… holding Kate. He held her much like you would hold a live rattlesnake… or a nuclear weapon._

_Ellie's eyes sparkled as she leaned in to Sarah again. This time Sarah couldn't hold in the laugh. "Guys might stick together, sweetie," Ellie whispered with a grin. "But paybacks are a bitch."_

- - - -


	10. Good Cop Bad Cop

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Elise keeps her promise to Devon. It works perfectly... and totally backfires._

_Okay, guys. I'm getting a few comments wondering where The Dark Intersect storyline is going. Don't worry. It'll get there. And it will be awful. Depressing… horrible. Chuck and Sarah's relationship will be testing to the breaking point as they are both forced to deal with what they have to do to save their daughter. Or… it might not be so bad. You never know._

_But, for right now, I'm having some fun with the team… as they have fun with each other. The bad stuff will still be there in a couple of chapters. Please be patient._

_I'd like to thank my friend BrickRoad… well mostly for being my friend, BrickRoad. But also for her help with this._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Good Cop – Bad Cop**

* * *

Elise and Janice were in the car waiting for Ellie to come out. They had set this up to be a simple girls shopping trip. But it really wasn't that at all. After nearly six weeks of planning, it was finally time to teach Ellie her lesson – and give Devon his wild night.

"You know that I'm only doing this because Casey is making me," Janice said. "I'm not crazy about this whole idea. Ellie is my friend. I don't feel right setting her up like this."

"Don't worry," Elise said. "The fact of the matter is that we're doing Ellie a huge favor… as long as she really loves Devon. Is there a possibility that she doesn't? Because if we're wrong about that, it could really go south."

"No," Janice said. "She loves him. She feels horrible about hurting him. She would gladly do anything to make it up to him. I'm not saying this won't work. I'm just saying… I'm not crazy about playing her."

"It will be okay," Elise said. "We'll play this as a good cop / bad cop scenario. I'll be the bad cop."

"Wait a minute," Janice said. "I want to be the bad cop."

"It works better if I'm the bad cop," Elise said. "You're better friends with her than I am."

"I hate being the good cop," Janice whined. "We can make it work my way."

"Okay," Elise said. "I'll tell you what. We'll go rock / paper / scissors for bad cop.

"Damn," Janice said in disgust as she saw that Elise's paper had just covered her rock. "I hate that stupid game. Fine. Here she comes."

"Hi guys," Ellie said in her typical bubbly manner. "I've been looking forward to going shopping with you for a week. It's just too bad that Sarah is busy. Where are we going first?"

Ellie's enthusiasm made Janice feel even worse than she had before. But she had an assignment. And Casey had made it very clear. If she did this, he would wipe the slate clean. And even though they had technically made up – there was still something there. So man, did she want that slate clean. "I'm sorry, Ellie," she said. "But I'm afraid that we're not going shopping today… at least not in the way you were thinking."

That made Ellie's face cloud up in confusion. "I don't understand," she said.

"I'm afraid that we have some… well… some distressing news," Janice said.

Elise wasted no time in playing the bad cop. "Not here," she briskly interrupted. "Ellie, we'll talk once we get to the safe house."

* * *

Chuck and Sarah were enjoying their alone time. One good thing about keeping Kate up last night meant that she was sleeping in a little this morning. And it was time that Sarah planned to take complete advantage of.

Finally, Sarah had caught her breath enough to actually speak. "Wow," she said. "That was… it was incredible. It's been a while since it's been that intense. Not that I'm complaining, but what got into you?"

At first Sarah just figured that it was taking Chuck a little longer to catch his breath. After all he had just made quite an effort. But then she saw the grin on his face.

"I just remembered something," Chuck finally said. "Telling the story of the night we had Kate." He was still trying to catch his breath so that Sarah was having a hard time understanding him.

"Sweetie," she said. "What is it?"

"Remember the night when you gave me my Stanford diploma?" Chuck asked. "And we watched the Chinese satellite burn up."

"Of course," Sarah said. "I'll never forget that night. I was so proud of you."

"And you told me to make a wish," Chuck said.

Sarah just nodded.

"I forgot all about that," Chuck said. "Because the wish had no chance. It was really, really stupid. One of those things that could never happen in a million years."

Sarah wrapped her arms around Chuck and held him close. "What did you wish for, sweetie?"

"I'm a little embarrassed to admit this to you," Chuck said. "But I wished that you and I could do this. That somehow, someway, I could trick you into bed, rip off your clothes, and make mad passionate love to you."

Sarah laughed. "So now the truth comes out," she said. "You just wanted in my pants. Trust me, Chuck. I had already figured that wish out."

"Sarah," Chuck said as he finally resumed breathing normally. "I wanted more than just in your pants. But I'll admit. That's what I was primarily thinking that night. And now my wish came true. We're a family. And sometimes now, I take it… I take you… for granted. I'm so sorry. I should never take you for granted. You're my wish that came true."

Sarah reached down to gently kiss him. Then she wrapped her arms around him. "Sweetie," she whispered. "I've never felt like you've taken me for granted… never once. But I'll tell you a little secret. I bet I wanted it that night a lot more than you did."

"So," Chuck teased. "You just wanted in my pants? That's nice. But no way did you want it more. I really don't see how that could be possible."

Sarah just grinned. "Trust me, sweetie," she said. "It's possible. It's very possible."

* * *

Ellie knew better than to ask any questions. Elise was very clear. Very abrupt… but very clear. So she sat patiently… okay, maybe not so patiently, while Janice drove. It was really only about a ten minute drive until they parked in front of a house. It was a typical looking suburban neighborhood. But Ellie could never remember having been here before. Elise silenced the question on Ellie's lips with a terse look. Wordlessly, Elise and Janice led her into the house.

Once they were comfortably inside, Elise turned to Ellie. "Okay," she said. "This is a safe house that Janice and I set up. It's one of the few places where we can talk and be sure that we're not being listened too."

Of course, that was a total lie. It was Andy Jefferies, Casey's detective buddy's house. It was a break to be able to use it. But Andy drove a hard bargain. In exchange for the use of the house this morning, Elise had to agree to go on a date with Andy. More than a date actually. She was going to be his eye candy at a ball in honor of L.A. law enforcement. And the gleam in Andy's eye as he checked Elise out told her very clearly how he planned for the evening to end. Not exactly her ideal Saturday night. But the house really helped set the mood.

Ellie couldn't stand the suspense any longer. "What is going on?" she asked.

"Don't worry, Ellie," Janice said. "We'll get through this."

Elise shot Janice a look. "I thought we agreed that we weren't going to baby her on this," she said tersely. "Ellie, we have a situation."

Janice knew that she needed to set the mood so she simply took a deep breath and turned away sadly. Ellie's eyes were filled with anticipation.

"You know that Janice and I have been working to get close to the Leon family for the past few months," Elise said. Okay, another lie. Sure, they had gone on a couple of dates. But once they realized that Papa Joe Leon and been killed in a hit, they really didn't have any reason to stay involved. Beckman quickly ordered them to disengage. They turned over what little intel that they had gathered to the FBI. That had been two months ago now… and that was the end of it.

Ellie nodded.

"It has been my assignment to get close to Paul Leon," Elise continued. "I'm sure that you remember him."

Ellie nodded again.

"Ellie," Janice interrupted. "Did you tell Paul Leon that you would have sex with him to make up for leaving early that night?"

Ellie's face turned beet red. "Maybe," she said. "I misunderstood what Sarah was telling me. I didn't say the words exactly… but I probably gave him the impression that's what I was saying. Why?"

"Ellie," Janice said in a low voice. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I know," Ellie said. "That's what Sarah told me. But I had already said it. What's the big deal? I'm never going to see him again."

"You don't understand," Elise said. "Paul Leon is a powerful, powerful man. He is completely used to getting what he wants. And now he feels like you lied to him. He is taking it personally. It's like you questioned his manhood." The third lie in a row. Paul was very happy with Elise. He had never mentioned Ellie's name. Yet still… it fit their scam perfectly.

"Okay," Ellie said. "So I'll be careful not to run into him again."

"Not going to work," Elise said. "He has people. A whole network, really. He has lots of ways to get information. And now he knows everything about you. He knows where you work. He knows what you had for lunch yesterday. He probably knows what color panties you're wearing. And he definitely knows about Devon and Chuck."

"Oh my God," Ellie said. "What is he going to do?"

Elise stared at Ellie intently. She knew that it was important for the whole scam that Ellie bought this next part. "These mob guys play for keeps," she finally said. "He is going to teach you a lesson. He thinks that you owe him something. And he is pissed. He is going to get what he wants, one way or the other. First he is going to kill Devon. And if you still haven't caved, he is going to kill Chuck."

Janice stopped the cry on Ellie's face with a look. "Don't worry," she said. "We will protect Devon."

Elise bristled. "Stop babying her," she said sternly. "She got herself into this. Ellie, here's the deal. We have kept this from the team so far. Not even Chuck and Sarah know. But the second Beckman hears about this, she is going to snatch you and Devon into protective custody so fast it will make your head spin."

Ellie tried to think through what Elise was saying. "Why would she do that?" she asked. "Why would she care about Devon and me?"

"She wouldn't," Janice said softly. "No offense, Ellie… but she doesn't give a rip about you… except that you could be used to leverage Chuck. She would never allow that to happen."

Ellie was trying very hard to will herself to stay calm. "What does that mean?" she asked. "We would start over as new identities? Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. At least we'd be together."

"I'm afraid not," Elise said. "It doesn't work that way. There is no way they would take a couple and relocate them as a couple. Especially not doctors. They would be way too easy to find. Maybe someday you could get back together. But you would be separated until the heat was off."

"How long?" Ellie whispered.

"That depends," Elise said. "But these mob guys have very long memories. I would say a couple of years."

Ellie sat down on the sofa, more in shock than anything. "There has to be another way," she said numbly.

Janice sat next to Ellie and grabbed her hand. "There is," she said softly. "It's really pretty simple. All you have to do is talk to Paul… and get him to forgive you."

"How would I do that?" Ellie asked. "You mean by sleeping with him, right? How can I do that? I don't want to cheat on Devon."

"I'm afraid so," Janice said. "Ellie, this isn't cheating on Devon. This is saving his life. And Devon never has to know. Do you really have any choice?"

"But you're the CIA," Ellie said. "Surely you can protect Devon from some two bit mobster."

"I'm sorry, Ellie," Janice said. "But he's a lot more than a two bit anything. His family controls the entire west coast. And this is a mission. The Leons are far too valuable for us to risk losing. Beckman would never let us interfere. She would just take you away. We've already told you more than we should. If you can't work it out with Paul…"

Ellie sat for a long moment. "What are we talking about?" she finally said. "If I sleep with him once, would that end this?"

"I think so," Elise said. "He really doesn't want you. It's just the principle of the thing to him. If you submit to him once -- give him the satisfaction of knowing that you respect him, I think he'll let it drop."

Ellie sat numbly for another long moment. Then she let out a huge sigh. "Okay," she said. "You're right. I can't lose Devon. I guess that I have no choice. What do I have to do?"

"Come on," Janice said as she rubbed Ellie's back. "This isn't going to be so bad. You always wondered what it would be like to be an agent. Well, this is your chance. You have no choice, so there shouldn't be any guilt. You're being a hero here. Saving the life of the man that you love. I'm really very proud of you. It's even possible that you don't have to actually spent the night with him."

Ellie didn't expect Janice to say that. "How?" she asked.

"At one point, sleeping with Paul once probably would have been enough," Elise said. "You lie there, he does all the work, and when it's over he feels like he's gotten a conquest. But now he feels you lied to him. I've been able to talk him into giving you a chance… but, Ellie, he's not messing around. He wants revenge. He wants you to apologize… to grovel. He wants you to convince him that you're sorry. And he has some very specific things in mind."

Ellie's head shot up. "Things," she said. "Like what things?"

Elise had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. But this is what Devon had asked for. After all, it wasn't all that unusual of a fantasy. But there was one thing that was unusual. It was positively evil how much Elise was enjoying this. At this point she would have given a year's pay to be able to see the look on Ellie's face when she found out it was Devon. Too bad that wouldn't be possible. "He has some unusual tastes," Elise said. "Trust me. I've been with him enough to know… he likes… Ellie, he likes to watch."

"See, Ellie," Janice said as she pulled her to her feet. "Actually, this might not be so bad. If he really likes what he sees, you may never even have to touch him."

"And even if you do," Elise said sarcastically. "It's probably not going to last very long. Paul is not much on stamina. Trust me on that."

"Come on," Janice said with a sideways look at Elise. "We need to get you ready. Let's go shopping for some sexy clothes."

* * *

"I can't possibly wear this," Ellie said as Janice held the negligee up against Ellie's body.

It had been a long morning of shopping. One thing was for sure, Ellie would have never bought anything like the stuff she already had in the bag that Elise was now carrying… on her own.

"Why not," Janice said. "It's gorgeous. It matches your eyes perfectly."

"But Janice," Ellie said. "Be reasonable. You can see right through it."

"Okay Ellie," Elise said disgustedly. "Hello... That's the whole idea. Do you realize how serious this is? If so, then why haven't you been paying attention? If you put on a good enough show, that's all that you might have to do. You're a brilliant doctor. What part of this plan confuses you? You have no choice… remember?"

"I know," Ellie said with a deep sigh. "I just have never done anything like this. I've never worn anything like this before… even for Devon.

Elise had to turn away from Ellie so she wouldn't see the smirk. "It looks like you're about to have a new experience," she said. "Look on the bright side."

"Bright side?"

Elise bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Yeah," she said. "Think about it, Ellie. You won't be wearing it very long."

* * *

"I'm scared," Ellie said. They were in the car getting ready to drop her off.

"Come on, Ellie," Janice said. "You're making way too big of a deal out of this. You put on a sexy show for this guy and it will be over before you know it. Surely you've stripped for a man before."

"Not really," Ellie said. "Not like this. And it sounds like that will just be the beginning of what he will be expecting."

"He's expecting more than you just taking your clothes off," Elise said. "That's for sure. But, Ellie… you've really never done this before? Not even for Devon?

Ellie didn't answer right away. She just turned red. "No," she finally whispered. "I might if he asked. He's just never asked. I really don't think Devon would want something like that. He's pretty conservative."

Elise locked eyes with Janice for a moment. The irony was overwhelming. But suddenly Elise knew what to do. "Wow," she said. "You really need to practice."

"Practice?"

"Of course," Elise said. "If you can't convince Leon that you're being genuine, this won't work. As a matter of fact, it will piss him off even more. I know that it doesn't sound like it – but he actually thinks that he is letting you off easy. If you blow this, the next time, if there is a next time, he will demand a lot more… like maybe an entire weekend."

"How do I practice?" Ellie asked.

"Okay," Elise said. "Maybe you should start slow. There must be something in bed that Devon likes that you're not so crazy about, right?"

Ellie didn't have to answer. The shade of purple that became her face said everything.

"Okay," Elise said. "Here is your practice assignment. Tonight do that thing… whatever it is. You initiate it. Convince Devon that you enjoyed it. Tell him that you enjoyed pleasing him. Make him believe it. That will be your homework. Tomorrow we'll talk about how it went."

"That's a little personal," Ellie said. "Don't you think?"

"Welcome to being an agent," Elise said firmly. "If you want to be modest, you should have never gotten involved with this."

As soon as Ellie left the car, Elise turned to Janice. "Wow," she said sadly. "Tell me that's not the saddest thing you've ever heard."

Janice was so consumed in her own thoughts that she didn't respond right away. "It's tragic," she finally said. "That's for sure. What was that last bit about practice? That wasn't part of the plan."

Elise smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. "I know," she said. "I improvised a little. Devon deserves another good night, don't you think? And I'll bet that Ellie enjoys it too. But those poor kids. Wasn't that pathetic? They both really want the exact same thing. Yet they are both miserable. They must really love each other. Maybe we should just tell her the truth and let them talk it out."

Janice sat for a long moment. "No," she said. "I was against this. But you were right. We need to do this for them. We need to be her friend. She needs to understand. And this is the only way that she will truly understand."

"They really need to talk," Elise said. "Maybe this is exactly the break that they need. They need to loosen up a little, don't you think?"

Janice looked at Elise with a new found respect. "I'm really sorry for our fight the other day," she said. "I just realized that I don't want on your bad side… ever. If this works the way you've planned, Ellie and Devon are going to owe you big time."

"I know," Elise said as her eyes sparkled. "I'm thinking free medical care for life."

"By the way," Janice said with a laugh. "It's supposed to be bad cop… not evil psycho bitch cop."

"Hey," Elise answered with her own laugh. "It got the job done."


	11. Tough Love

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Sometimes when you love someone, you have to watch them make their own mistakes. We'll see lots of people make mistakes here. And the people who love them – protect them from them._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Tough Love**

* * *

It had been a long time since they had gone for round two. And even longer since they had connected at this level. Probably not since that last night in D.C. after Fulcrum was destroyed. So they were taking the time to fully enjoy it. Finally Sarah leaned in to gently kiss him. "That was nice," she said.

Chuck just looked at her in mock horror. "Nice?" he said sarcastically. "Nice? After the effort that I just made? That's all I get? Nice?"

All Sarah could do was laugh. "I'm sorry," she said. "What I meant to say was that you were an absolute stallion. A Greek God of love. A…"

"Okay," Chuck said with his own laugh. "I get it. Apology accepted."

"Good," Sarah said as playfully slapped Chuck on the chest. Now, what are we going to do about Casey and Janice?"

"What do you mean?" Chuck asked with his eyes sparkling. "You mean the last two months of them rubbing our face into… well them rubbing each other?"

"Exactly," Sarah said. "I don't mind them being affectionate. But come on. Casey and Janice? They have been intentionally mocking us. And I don't think we should let them get away with it?"

"What do you think we should do?" Chuck asked.

"I don't have a clue," Sarah said with a smile. "Shooting them is probably out. So I'm out of ideas. That's why I'm asking the master. But I do know that you'll come up with something. They are coming over later this morning. And if you can figure out a way to nail them good, I'm pretty sure that I can find a creative way to reward you."

This earned her the full power of Chuck's amazing grin. "Sarah," he said. "Prepare my reward. Consider them nailed."

Seeing Chuck's grin forced Sarah to laugh out loud. "You've got it, sweetie," she said. "I'm thinking – new family tradition."

"You've got a deal," Chuck said. "Maybe it will even be nice."

* * *

Adam Colson really wasn't frustrated. Not really. He knew that he couldn't let himself get frustrated. Sure, he hadn't discovered where Sarah Walker and her team was… yet. Wasn't even that close… yet. But he was willing to be patient. After all, it was just a matter of time. He was slowly working his way up the chain of command. And it was tricky. Because he had to make sure that his next move wasn't predictable. Fortunately, he had perfected the art of torture. It was now easy to make sure that his victims told him everything. But still, there was no question. Finding them this way was going to take a long time. Even with the intersect helping him.

One thing that Adam was absolutely sure of… he was becoming obsessed with Sarah Walker. For one thing, he had now read enough of her mission reviews to know that she was the very best that the agency could offer. That alone made her an alluring target. Imagine the look on the CIA big shots faces when they saw the tape of their best being defeated so easily. But he had to admit, it was now more than that. She was perfect. Yes, it was going to take a long time. It – no she -- was going to be so worth it. He was going to give them a tape that would… well, it would make history.

But in the meantime, he was learning a lot. And not just about the command structure of the CIA. He even discovered that he had some allies. Not all Fulcrum agents had been taken out in the massive attack. There were a couple dozen who hadn't participated for one reason or another. He had actually met several. Sure they were scared and lying low. And yes, the CIA, and this Bryce Larkin dude in particular, was actively hunting them down. But still, it was nice to have some loyal subjects to truly worship him.

So he took a couple Fulcrum agents under his wing. It was easy to protect them. After all, the intersect provided lots of money and safe places to hide. But that wasn't the best part. Bryce Larkin was actively looking for them. It would be great if this Bryce could be convinced to tell him where Walker was. He surely knew. After all, they had clearly been partners and lovers. Perhaps Adam could use his new friends to arrange for a meeting with Larkin. It might prove very fruitful. And besides – Adam was really looking forward to meeting Bryce Larkin. He was looking forward to meeting him – a lot.

* * *

Chuck wasn't surprised at all. He was fully expecting it. After all, it had been the same act for the past six weeks. Casey and Janice were constantly all over each other. Sarah was right. It was getting a little north of annoying. And the worst part was the smirk on their faces. So it was no surprise when they started their routine as soon as they walked in the door. _This crap had to end_. "Hey, guys," Chuck said cheerfully. He completely ignored the wet, sloppy kiss that Janice was laying on Casey. "Grab your coffee. Sarah is in the living room."

There were plenty of spots to sit in the living room. Sarah was in the loveseat. And Chuck sat next to her. That left the entire sofa empty. But it was absolutely predictable that Casey choose the chair. And that Janice plopped down onto his lap. They were far to busy with their performance called "let's see how far we can stick our tongues down each others throats" to pay much attention to Sarah. It was kind of impressive that they could go at it so aggressively without either spilling their coffee. Finally, almost as if on cue, they looked up to see what horror they could find on Sarah's face. But, to their surprise, Sarah just sat with a soft smile. It was then that they realized that she was covered by a thin receiving blanket.

"What's going on?" Janice finally asked.

"Oh, hey guys," Sarah said cheerfully. "Don't worry about me. I'm just pumping my breasts."

Chuck had to bite his lip to keep the grin of his face as he saw the color noticeably drain from both of their faces. "Kate's gotta eat, right?" he said.

Casey's face showed the near panic as he tried to find a place -- anyplace to look except at Sarah. "Don't you think you could do that somewhere else?" he asked.

"Come on, guys," Chuck said. "She normally would do this in private. We wouldn't want to embarrass you. But now that you two are so open about… well the physical stuff, we figured you wouldn't mind."

"Yeah," Sarah said. "We're really proud of you. I mean the way that you're so willing to be so open and affectionate in front of us. You've really grown. So now, there is really no need for us to hide anything from you. Just like you're not hiding anything from us. It's really great."

Janice's jaw dropped. "I didn't think you were breast feeding," she said.

"I'm not," Sarah said. "We feed Kate from a bottle. But where do you think we get the milk?"

"This pump is really amazing," Chuck said. He reached for the receiving blanket. "Do you want to see how it works?"

The response was quick and simultaneous. "No," they said as one.

Chuck decided it was time to twist the knife a little. "Come on guys," he said. "This is the most natural thing in the world. It's just milk. It's actually quite tasty."

It was sort of like a cartoon. Chuck could see the green in Janice's face clear as anything. He decided to go for the kill. "What do you think is in your coffee?" he asked with an evil grin.

That did it. Janice didn't have much coffee left. But what little she did have ended up on Casey's lap. She ran towards the bathroom. Her retching could be clearly heard.

Casey, to his credit, kept his composure… pretty much. "Tell me you're joking," he said.

"I'll tell you what," Chuck said. "Tell me that we've witnessed the last of your 'teenager in the back seat' routine, and I'll tell you the truth."

Casey's response was quick. "Agreed," he said.

"Then, yes," Chuck said. "I'm kidding."

As soon as Casey left to go check on Janice, Chuck and Sarah let out the giggles that they had been trying so hard to contain.

As soon as Sarah could stop laughing she slid over next to Chuck and put her head on his shoulder. "I guess it would be a bad time to tell them that Kate has been on formula for a couple of weeks," she said.

"I think so," Chuck said. "Have you given any more thought to my reward? I assume that I've eared one."

"Indeed," Sarah said. Chuck's eyes got wide as Sarah whispered the details into his ear. But then she pulled back and flashed an evil grin. "But I think I might have a proposition for you," she said. "How would you really like to earn a ticket to reward-town?"

"Sarah," Chuck said. "A proposition that includes a proposition. It sounds like something right up my ally. Try me."

Sarah reached over and kissed him. "It's funny," she said. "I had a hunch you would say that."

* * *

Janice and Ellie were in the hotel lobby. Janice was giving Ellie her last minute instructions. "It's really pretty easy," she said as she handed Ellie a room key. "He is in room eight-forty-seven. All you have to do is let yourself in – and then do whatever he asks. You look fantastic. I'm sure he'll be pleased."

"I'm nervous," Ellie said.

"Nervous?" Janice asked. "Ellie, there is nothing to be afraid of. Why are you nervous?"

"I just am," Ellie said. "I'm not scared of him. I just don't want to do this. I feel so cheap. I'm about to give something to a stranger that should belong to Devon. He's getting something from me that I've never given to the man that I adore. That's just wrong."

Janice grabbed Ellie and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Sweetie," Ellie said with the surprise evident in her voice. "Why are you sorry?"

Janice didn't answer Ellie directly. "Ellie," she said. "Are we friends? We are, aren't we? I mean, really, really friends?"

Ellie was stunned by the question. "Sweetie," she said. "Of course we're friends. You're one of my best friends. Why would you ask that?"

"I've never had any friends," Janice said. "I mean Chuck and Sarah are the only friends that I've ever had… And I tried to break them up."

Janice's voice was so pitiful that it broke Ellie's heart. "Sweetie," she said. "What's wrong?"

"This is all my fault," Janice said with a sob. "I feel terrible. It's no excuse, but I'm just not used to having friends. If I had been acting like your friend that night, I would have told you how cheap and lonely and demeaning this life is. Instead I tried to impress you with how sexy, mysterious, and dangerous I could be. I'm so, so sorry."

Ellie was genuinely surprised by the emotion in Janice's voice. For a minute, it actually made Ellie forget her nervousness. "It's okay," she said as she hugged Janice back. "It's not your fault. I was curious."

"Yes," Janice said. "I know. And your friend should have knocked that out of you. Your friend should have made you understand. I wasn't your friend that night – I was… I was something else. So now you have to find out this painful lesson on your own. And it is a lesson I should have been able to save you from. So please forgive me."

"Okay," Ellie said. "I don't think it's necessary. But if it's important to you… I forgive you."

"Thanks," Janice said. "It means a lot. But I need you to understand something. Tonight I am being your friend. Even if it doesn't seem like it, right now. So I want you to be honest with me. How do you feel? Are you excited? Are you turned on… even a little?"

Ellie swallowed hard. "I've never been less turned on in my life," she said. "I would give almost anything to not have to do this. Sarah was right. This is the worst feeling of my life."

Janice couldn't keep the smile from her face. "Are you sure?" she asked. "If I could get you out of this, would you want me too?"

Ellie felt a twang of hope. _What was Janice saying?_ "Sweetie," she said. "If you could get me out of this, I'd do anything. If there is a way out of this, please tell me."

Janice's smile turned into a grin. "You have to promise me that what I'm about to tell you stays between us," she said.

Ellie nodded. "Of course," she whispered.

"Ellie," Janice said. "First I want you to promise me that you'll never forget how you feel right now."

Ellie nodded.

"Okay," Janice said. "I believe that you've learned your lesson. So let me tell you what is really going to happen tonight."

* * *

Ellie was struggling trying to get a handle on her own feelings as she unlocked the hotel room door and stepped inside. She probably should be angry. After all, people who she loved and who loved her had just put her through a very bad couple of days. But for some reason, she wasn't. Well, not exactly some reason. She knew exactly why. She was far to relieved to be angry. Sure, she was nervous. More than a little. But not angry. Not at all.

But the next question was how to play this. Devon very obviously was planning to enjoy this. And that fact alone was making her tingle more than she thought she would. But she knew that she had to be careful. After all, Devon was assuming that she thought she was doing this for another man. If she was too enthusiastic, well, that would send entirely the wrong message. But, on the other hand, he and the girls had gone to a lot of trouble to make this happen. He deserved to get his money's worth. If this is really what he wanted – then he was going to get it all.

And Ellie had to admit, this was really getting to her as well… far more than she ever anticipated. She was now feeling just like she originally thought that it might. The fact that it was Devon made all the difference. Now she was more curious than anything. How long would Devon let this go? And how did he plan on fooling her? _I mean really, deception, God bless him, is not Devon's strength._

Well, the second question was quickly answered. As soon as she walked into the room, Ellie was staring directly into a bright light. It was impossible to see anything.

"Put on the blindfold," came a raspy voice from behind the light. When Ellie glanced to her right, indeed there was a blindfold sitting on the table. So fighting to keep the grin off her face, Ellie picked it up and put it on. _This is actually going to be fun_.

* * *

"How did it go?" Casey asked as soon as she walked into the apartment.

Janice smiled… more to herself than anything. She didn't have to ask what he meant. Casey had been like a kid in a candy store every since he found out about what Elise had planned for on Ellie. It was cute. Well sorta anyway. But it was also a little disconcerting. What was the real deal with Ellie and Casey? She knew that they were friends. Unlikely friends… but still… After all, the first time she had met either of them was in Denver when they had just spent the night together.

She was getting absolutely no vibe from Ellie that they were ever more than just friends. And Janice was confident enough that Ellie would be straight with her. She knew that Ellie wouldn't hide anything from her. Yet, still. Did Casey have a crush on her? Was that why he was so invested? He was living vicariously? Janice had to admit – it was very possible. "I completed my assignment," she said with as genuine of a smile as she could muster. "Our deal was that would wipe the slate clean."

"Of course," Casey said. "That was our deal."

But then he did something very un-Casey-like. He kissed her. Not that kissing her was unusual. It wasn't. What was unusual was more the kind of kiss. It was the kind of kiss that Janice always initiated. It was the kind of kiss that was designed to lead quickly to bed. And, sure enough, after a few seconds he was lifting her shirt over her head. Never being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Janice quickly lifted her arms to allow the shirt to fall to the floor. _Where is this coming from?_ _Casey hasn't acted like this since… Wait a minute. He hasn't acted like this since before the night in the bar_.

_Is the slate really clean_? _Or is something else going on_? Janice honestly couldn't tell. And now that he had picked her up in his arms and was carrying her towards the bedroom, it really wasn't time to worry about it. One thing was for sure… Casey was on fire. And naturally, that meant that Janice was not very far behind. Casey had them naked in record time. _And, oh my God, what is he doing? That is a first_. Janice knew that she was soon going to lose the ability for rational thought. Being jealous would have to wait. And after all… if having a crush on Ellie could get this out of him… maybe it wasn't such a bad thing after all.

* * *

Ellie was standing in the dark outside of her apartment in the rain. She was waiting for Devon to unlock the door. And normally, she would have gotten a little annoyed that he was taking so long. But tonight was anything but normal.

Wow. What a good time they had just had. Good? That didn't come close. She and Devon had just connected at a level that they had never approached before. Who knew that one little piece of lingerie could make such a difference. Janice was right. It did match her eyes perfectly. And Elise was also right. She didn't end up wearing it very long. And even Ellie was right about something. Deception was not Devon's thing. He confessed just as soon as he saw the negligee. She could actually hear him gasp as she stepped out of the outfit that she was wearing over it.

Finally, he had the stupid door open. But as soon as they walked in, Ellie realized that they were not alone.

"Sarah?" Ellie said. "What are you doing here? Is Kate here?"

"I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I know that you look forward to seeing Kate. But I didn't want to bring her out into the rain. She's home with her daddy."

"What is Chuck doing with her?" Ellie asked.

"I'm not sure," Sarah said with a laugh. "Probably boring her with stories about Jeff and Lester. Or maybe he's teaching her to play video games."

"I'll make us some coffee," Devon said.

"None for me," Sarah called into the kitchen. "I'm not going to stay." Then she turned to Ellie. "I know that you two will want to be alone. I just want to make sure you're okay. That everything went well. That you're not upset."

Ellie's smile said everything. But she answered anyway. "Everything went great," she said. "I'm touched that everyone would go to so much trouble. It was a special night."

"I'm glad that everything worked out okay," Sarah said. "But it was really Elise. She did all of the work. It was her plan."

"I'll have to thank Elise," Ellie said.

Sarah's face broke into a huge grin. "Maybe," she said. "But she pulled one over on you. I heard about her bad cop routine. Maybe you should consider not letting her off so easy. After all, there is something to be said about getting even."

"What are you saying?" Ellie asked.

"Only that Elise might be getting a little too cocky for her own good," Sarah said. "I think it might be up to the team to make sure that she stays grounded. And it might be a little fun to see if she can take it as well as she can dish it out, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Ellie said. "But I'm horrible at thinking of things like that. I'm not devious enough."

"I'm not good at it either," Sarah said. Then she grabbed Ellie's hand. "But this guy that I know… he's an absolute genius at this sort of thing."

Ellie just grinned. "What is Chuck's plan?" she asked.

"I might have talked him into coming up with something," Sarah said with a giggle. "Of course I had to sleep with him first."

Ellie laughed. "So," she said. "It sounds like you really made the ultimate sacrifice. A plan inspired by sex. Sounds serious."

"Maybe," Sarah said. "But, Ellie, I think you might like this."

_

* * *

_

A/N: Okay folks. It's obvious that, for whatever reason, this story isn't catching on. And it's silly to spend so much effort on something that is so obviously not catching on. So I'm going to end it. I already have the next chapter semi written. But I'll write an epilogue after that wraps the arc up.


	12. Backfire

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Okay. Let's try picking up the pace a little. Maybe that will help._

_Warning: There are major character deaths in this story._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Backfire**

* * *

Adam Colson quickly figured out that Las Vegas was the perfect base of operations. For a bunch of really good spy reasons. First, it had world class communications facilities. It also was very easy to travel to and from almost anyplace in the world. And, not least, it was a tourist community. Since nobody was ever there for more than a few days at a time -- it was easy to blend in without faces becoming familiar to anybody.

And although it was not really a good spy reason, there was another factor that made Vegas an excellent choice. It was a city where money could buy anything. And money was the one resource that the intersect could provide endlessly. It allowed him and his small band of followers to live like kings. One thing was for sure – if his Fulcrum survivors hadn't worshiped him before, they sure as hell did now.

Things were close to perfect. But there was a single fly in the ointment -- Bryce Larkin. Bryce freaking Larkin was beginning to rub on his last nerve. The man was relentless. He had already killed two of his people. He obviously was not going to stop hunting them down. But one thing that the intersect had taught him. Where others saw problems, Adam saw opportunities. Not only could he eliminate one very large pain in his ass, and have fun doing it -- Bryce Larkin knew where Sarah Walker was. And two birds with one stone was exactly the kind of deal the Adam Colson now lived for.

* * *

Sarah had to admit to herself – as much as she had been looking forward to getting out of the house -- she couldn't wait to get back home. Okay, she had only been gone for a little over a couple of hours. But honestly, she missed Chuck and Kate. And, to be totally honest, it was much more than that. She missed being home. Now that she had a home – and a family, she just never wanted to leave.

Sarah smiled to herself as she remembered becoming a mom. The first few weeks were rough. But that was over now. She and Kate had finally reached an understanding. And now things were going great. Even bath time was now no longer to be dreaded. They actually had fun. It was getting to the point where Kate was just as comfortable with Sarah as she was with Chuck. Truth be told, maybe even a little more so. And even though Sarah knew that it wasn't a competition, it still made her feel great. Okay, so maybe it was a competition – a little. With Sarah, pretty much everything was a competition at some level. At least this one was friendly -- mostly. And at least, she was now winning.

So where before she would have actually been a little jealous, Sarah was now able to be pleased that Chuck was sharing some happy time with Kate. There was something about seeing your baby smile. It was a feeling that was simply overwhelming. And it never got old. Sarah felt good for Chuck that he was now getting that feeling. She felt so good that she actually hung back a little and watched them for a moment. Chuck was really a great dad. But she only waited for a moment. It was too good of a scene to not be part of. "Hey," she said as she walked up and ran her fingers through Chuck's hair. "How did it go? Was he fussy?"

"He?" Chuck questioned.

"Yeah," Sarah said with a grin. "I was talking to Kate."

* * *

Bryce Larkin had just spent a fairly unexciting six months. Perhaps boring would be a better description. However you would describe it, it certainly wasn't up to his usual standards.

It had been Bryce's job, for the past two years, to go deep undercover to find out as much as possible about Fulcrum. Now that was dangerous, exciting work. And that suited Bryce just fine. It really did. On several levels really.

Over the years there was something that Bryce had come to accept about himself – he loved the chase. He loved the adrenalin rush that having a gun pointed at his head gave him. And he was good at it. If you were looking for proof, it was simple. He had survived. And that was a miracle given the power of the organization that they were fighting.

Of course, it didn't hurt that he was helping his best friend. Who was he kidding? He was helping his only friend. After all, it only seemed fair. He was the one that got him involved in the first place. And he had to admit – Chuck had surprised him. He didn't expect him to last a month. And here he was – not only surviving – but thriving. He was actually taking the fight to the enemy. He had really grown. And the cause was obvious, if not a little painful to admit.

Sarah Walker.

If Bryce was honest, she was the cause – and that was the problem. Sarah Walker. Well, actually it was now Sarah Bartowski. And if he was brutally honest, that was the real problem. She was the only person who had ever seen through him. Her piercing blue eyes still haunted him. Oh, he knew that she didn't love him. She loved Chuck. She more than loved Chuck. She was complete with him – almost a different person. And, let's face it, Bryce didn't love her either – at least not like that. He knew that he wasn't even capable of loving someone like that. But if he had been capable of loving anybody, it would have been Sarah.

That's the real reason why he stayed away. He tried to be happy for them. He really did. And at some level he was. But there was something that always haunted him. Sarah was supposed to be his... his… his what? Partner? Sure. Lover? Sometimes. But more than that – just… his. And now she wasn't. For better or for worse, she was now Chuck's. And even though Bryce had held out some embers of hope for a while, it was time to face reality -- she always would be Chuck's. That ship had sailed. That's why he kept making excuses to not go by to see their new daughter. It would just be one more nail in the coffin of those dashed hopes.

That's why this job was perfect. He didn't expect to live long. But then again, he didn't have much to live for anyway. Perfect. He could go out in the hero's blaze of glory that he had always envisioned. But then his friend had to give him the final blow. The rat… he actually destroyed Fulcrum. That was Bruce's dream. So now, here he was -- stuck doing the cleanup work. Bryce Larkin – CIA Super Agent – was hunting down the last few survivors of Fulcrum much like a private detective in a cheep movie. Where was the glory in that?

He wasn't even really deep undercover anymore. There was no reason not to use his name. After all, nobody knew Bryce Larkin. Only the top leadership knew him. And they were dead – or in prison. There was really no danger. The remaining Fulcrum members were all scared and hiding. A lot of them had already turned themselves in and begged for mercy. Some of the minor players even got it. Of course, some got a bullet in the head. That was the price for being a traitor.

So, here he was – tracking down another lead. Here in this stupid blink-and-you-miss-it casino town. If they were going to hide in Nevada, the least they could do would be to pick the strip. But no, here he was in this stupid dive of a bar waiting for his stupid contact. And, of course, he was late. Finally, there he was. Bryce flashed his classic smile and extended his hand. Little did he know that he was about to get his primary wish. His pain would soon be over. "Bryce Larkin," he said.

"Hi Bryce," the man said as he shook hands warmly. "Adam Colson. You have no idea how happy I am to meet you."

* * *

Janice sat at Ellie's table with her cup of coffee. Devon had early rounds. Poor guy, he was going to be tired. After all, it had been a long night… and a long early morning… and even a long shower as he got ready for work. Thankfully, Ellie didn't have a full shift today.

Ellie had to admit -- she was tired too. It was a great kind of tired. But still… sore muscles were sore muscles. But Ellie was surprised to see Janice yawn.

"Hey," Janice said as she noticed Ellie's look. "Do you think you are the only one that's allowed to have a wild night?"

There was something off in Janice's voice. Something was wrong. But there was one thing that Ellie had learned in their brief friendship. If she just waited, Janice would tell her what the problem was. And, sure enough, it wasn't three minutes before Janice sighed. "We're friends, right?" she asked.

Ellie could now tell for sure that something was bothering her. "Of course, sweetie," she said. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

Janice didn't really answer Ellie's question. She just looked at her. "If I ask you a question," she said. "Will you tell me the truth? Even if you know I won't like the answer?"

Now Ellie was starting to get really concerned. "I will now," she said with as much smile as she could muster.

"It's personal," Janice said. "It's very personal."

Ellie just nodded.

"Have you and Casey ever… you know?" Janice said so softly that Ellie had to strain to hear her.

At first Ellie didn't know what Janice meant. So she just stared with a confused look. "Have we…," she said, more to herself than to Janice. Then it hit her what Janice was really asking. "Oh my God," Ellie said with a smile. "Of course not. Why would you ask me that?"

"Have you ever thought about it?" Janice asked softly as she looked at the table. "Please be honest. I promise I won't get upset." But when she could plainly see the blush running up Ellie's neck, her question was answered. "I knew it."

Ellie quickly grabbed Janice's hand. "Sweetie, it's not what you think," she said. "When we were looking for Chuck and Sarah in Denver, I was desperate. I thought about maybe letting him think that I would sleep with him so that he would help Chuck. And come to find out, he was thinking that sleeping with me would keep me controlled. But we came to the conclusion almost at the same exact time that neither of us could do it. We've been nothing but friends every since that moment."

"And that's it?" Janice asked. "You don't have an attraction for him?"

"Sweetie," Ellie said. "What's really wrong here? You seriously can't be worried about me and Casey. Talk to me. I've noticed that John is an attractive man. Just like I'm sure you've noticed that Devon is an attractive man. But I have no – zero – nada romantic feelings for him. And even if I did, you and I are good friends. I would never pursue anything with him. John is your fiancé."

"I know," Janice said with a sigh. "I just think that Casey has a crush on you."

Ellie did a triple take. She couldn't believe what Janice just said. "That's crazy," she said. "Why on earth would you think that?"

Janice still wouldn't meet Ellie's eye. "Things have been off between us," she finally said. "You know that, right? Especially since the incident. But last night, after Casey heard about you and Devon, he was on fire. Ellie, he did things last night that I've never seen out of him before… ever. He was obviously fantasizing about you."

Ellie sat and stared at Janice for a long moment. _Is she serious?_ But then she just nodded and grinned. "I see," she said. "It is pretty obvious. You're absolutely right. I think he was fantasizing."

When Ellie saw Janice's eyes begin to fill up, she immediately grabbed her hands. "Sweetie," she said. "Sarah was right, wasn't she? Being a spy for so long has ruined you. Janice, you're one of the most beautiful women in the whole world. You should be on the cover of a magazine. How could you possibly be so insecure?"

"I don't know what you mean," Janice said as she started to silently sob.

Ellie just shook her head. "You really can't see this, can you?" she asked. "I guess it's true. A plumber's faucets always leak. A mechanic's car never runs right. Let me ask you a question. When is the last time that Casey saw you in a negligee?"

At first, Janice didn't understand the question. "Sarah borrowed all of my negligees on our last mission," she said. "So I guess that answer is never."

Ellie laughed. "I'm sorry sweetie," she said. "But you really can't see this? Janice, you're a professional seductress. Can't you see that Casey is not fantasizing about me? He was thinking about the situation. He's fantasizing about you."

Janice spent a long moment deep in thought. Then suddenly her face broke into a huge grin. "Oh my God," she said. "You're right. He was thinking about the situation. That means…"

"Of course I'm right," Ellie said. "Come on, Janice. I mean really. This jealousy thing is really getting old. Are you seriously the only person on the planet who can't see how much he adores you?"

"Oh my God," Janice said as she visibly slumped in her chair. "I don't think I've ever been so relieved in my life. I'm sorry that I was jealous of you."

Ellie just laughed. "You were jealous of me?" she asked. "That's quite a compliment. Have you looked in a mirror lately? We have to get it together. Elise is going to be here any minute. Sarah told you what we're doing, right?"

Janice was far too happy to respond right away. But after a moment she finally let out a contented sigh. "Yes," she said. "I'm ready. But as soon as Elise leaves I need to go see Sarah and get my negligees back. I have some serious… well… it's time that the plumber fixed her leaky faucets."

"You're going to be able to help me with Elise," Ellie said cautiously.

"Yes," Janice said with her grin still beaming. "I'm looking forward to it. I finally get to be bad cop."

* * *

There was one thing about Dianne Beckman that was generally misunderstood. It was widely assumed that she didn't have a sense of rumor. And that really wasn't true. It was dry – and she didn't let it show much – but she liked a good laugh as well as anyone. But one thing was for sure – in the office, she was all business. She never was one for childish pranks. In their profession, when you lost concentration for a second, good people died. So if it had been anybody else on that monitor except Sarah, they would have been summarily dismissed – probably with a moderate to severe ass chewing.

"Let me understand," Beckman said. "You want me to participate in a prank? Why would I do that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said. "It may sound silly. But it's really not. It's important for our team continuity that Agent Walters realize how much we value her."

Beckman's eyebrows shot up. "And you're going to do that by pulling a prank on her?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said. "Nothing says that you're part of the team like being the butt of a joke. And let's face it – Agent Walters is clearly intimidated by me. Maybe this will allow us to get past that. It may become important in the future."

Beckman paused for a moment. Normally she wouldn't even consider this. But she knew that some very bad days were likely ahead for this group. Maybe Sarah was right. They needed to be a strong emotional team to get through this. "Okay," Sarah," she finally said. "I'll participate."

Sarah really couldn't keep the surprise from her face. "Really?" she asked. "I mean, thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome," Beckman said. "And Sarah?"

"Ma'am?"

"Don't make a habit of this."

Sarah didn't like to show emotion in front of the General. But she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Yes, ma'am," she said.

* * *

As soon as Elise stepped into the apartment, Ellie ran up and threw her arms around her.

"Nice," Elise said. "I guess this means that you're not angry with me."

"How could I be angry with you," Ellie asked. "You just gave me a great gift. You taught me a lesson that I will never forget."

"I'm glad," Elise said. "That's what we were hoping for."

"Well, it happened," Ellie said. "Thank you for showing me what a spy's life is really like. Now, when can we do it for real?"

That wiped the smile off Elise's face in a hurry. "Huh?" she asked.

"For real," Ellie said. "I have never been more turned on in my entire life. I was disappointed that it turned out to be Devon. Oh, I know that you wanted to start me off slow. But now I want a real mark."

Janice caught Elise's eye. "But Ellie," she said. "What about Devon?"

"He doesn't need to know," Ellie said. "Does he? I still love Devon. I mean, sex with him is okay. But when I thought it was a complete stranger – wow. I was absolutely on fire. It was the most incredible feeling in the world. It was like a drug. I really need to feel that again."

"But, Ellie," Janice said. "Think about it. You'd be cheating on Devon. You're okay with that?"

"Come on Janice," Ellie said. "Really -- listen to yourself. You are a professional agent. How many marks have you slept with? You get a little tiny whiff of a real boyfriend and it turns you into a prude? Tell her, Elise. It's just sex. It's fun. It doesn't mean anything."

Janice was enjoying her role of not so innocent bystander. She could clearly see the color drain from Elise's face.

"I'm going to get ready for work," Ellie said. "Elise, you said I needed to practice. Why don't we go out tonight? All three of us. We'll go… practice. Then maybe we can figure out some way to make this real."

Ellie hugged Elise just before she disappeared into the bathroom. "Thank you, sweetie," she said. "You've changed my life."

Elise just stared at Janice. "Oh shit," she whispered. "What are we going to do now?"

Janice just glared. "What do you mean we?" she asked harshly. "This was all your idea. I was against it… remember?"

"Janice," Elise pleaded. "What am I going to do? Sarah is going to kill me."

Janice bit her lip to keep from giggling. "Not necessarily," she said. "Not right away anyway. That's not Sarah's style. Ellie is her sister. She loves Devon like a brother. She is going to make you suffer for a long time first. It's going to be real messy. I'm glad I don't live there anymore."

"Please help me," Elise said. "What should I do? She wants to go out tonight and pick up men."

Janice was still fighting the urge to laugh. "Fine," she finally said. "I'll go out with you. But we'll tell her she's not ready. She'll have to watch you and learn. That will stall her for a night anyway."

"Me," Elise said. "Why me?"

"You're kidding right?" Janice said. "It has to be one of us. And for one thing, this is your mess. For another, I just made up with Casey. The very last thing I am going to do is get caught flirting with another guy. You need a setup. How about that friend of Casey's? Andy was it? The one that let us use his house. He likes you. Ellie has never seen him. Have him be at the bar and you'll pick him to seduce. I'll be sitting with Ellie describing how badly it is going for you. Then, you can set Ellie up with a meeting with Beckman asking for a real mission. Beckman will laugh at her and that will be the end of it."

Elise thought for a moment. "That might work," she said. "The only problem is that I know what Andy's price is going to be. I was really hoping to not have to sleep with him. Maybe I can just pick out some stranger in the bar."

Janice really didn't know Andy that well. And what she did know of him, she didn't like all that much. He was a bit of a slime ball. Janice had a sixth sense about when a man was picturing her naked. And Andy had those alarms ringing off the hook. But still, he was a friend of Casey's. Maybe this would earn her some points with him. After all, if Andy knew that Elise was going to be willing to do anything… "I don't know," she said. "With a stranger you don't know what is going to happen. The last thing you want is for Ellie to think it went well. That would encourage her even more."

Elise sighed. "I guess you're right," she said. "Maybe I can sweet talk him into it without too big of a price. I really don't have much choice."

Now Janice couldn't hold in the grin. Fortunately, she was able to turn away so that Elise couldn't see her. One phone call and Andy now owed Casey a huge favor. And that meant that Casey now owed her a huge favor. And she knew exactly how she was going to collect. _Sorry, Elise. This is too good to pass up_. "Whatever the price is," she said. "You'd better pay it."


	13. Code Blue

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Beckman has been hoping against hope that she won't have to ask Chuck to become a Dark Intersect and subject the team to the side effects. Well, her time is up._

_**Warning: There is a fairly gruesome main character(s) death in this story. Read at your own discretion.**_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Code Blue**

**Washington D.C. - General Beckman's Personal Quarters:**

General Beckman knew that something was seriously wrong when her Chief of Staff came bursting into her bedroom at three in the morning. Military protocol dictated that one would knock and wait to be invited into a superior officer's quarters. Indeed, his face was very flushed.

Major Collins was clearly out of breath. "I'm very sorry, ma'am," he said between pants.

"What is it?" Beckman said.

"Adam Colson, ma'am," he said as he still struggled to catch his breath. "I'm afraid that we've found another body."

And even though there was no rational reason, the look on his face said it. It was her worst fear. It was Janice. Somehow the bastard had found Janice. "Who?" she asked as she fought to control her own composure.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Collins said. "It's bad. It's Bryce Larkin."

The fact that she felt a little relieved instantly caused her to feel guilty. But this was also horrible news. Not really personally. Oh, Bryce was an excellent agent. And a valued member of the team. And she liked him – as far as that went. But she didn't love him. And she certainly didn't feel the personal attachment that she felt for the rest of the team. But the truth was that Bryce knew things. Things that could lead Colson right to them. So her voice noticeably cracked when she asked, "Was there a video?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "I'm afraid it is beyond gruesome. It is being analyzed as we speak."

Beckman could barely get the next question out. "What about the team?" she asked.

"We think it likely that they are not compromised," Collins replied. "Yet. If Colson had learned their location, he would have attacked before letting us find the body. We believe that Larkin more then likely gave up the location of the old Castle. We're reviewing surveillance tapes to see if there has been any unusual activity there. Larkin didn't know their current home base location so he couldn't have given that up. It's possible that he compromised Colonel Casey's residence. But again, it seems like Colson would have attacked first."

"What about Bartowski?" Beckman asked. If he knew, even so much as Chuck's name, his sister would be a sitting duck. After all, her name was in the phone book.

"There's no indication that Larkin gave up Bartowski," he replied. "He is not in the intersect… so Colson would have had no reason to ask about him. The video was directed mostly at Agent Walker. He obviously has some sort of sick obsession for her." Collins was a career solder. A real hard core SOB. And that was a compliment. So when his voice cracked… it meant something. "But Larkin didn't die easily. It's… it's… it's very tough to watch, ma'am," he said.

Beckman wasted no time taking command. "Have my plane ready within the hour," she ordered. "We're out of time. Now we have no choice. Contact Agent Beckman and Colonel Casey and order them to travel separately to the home base. Advise them to assume they are being pursued. Contact the rest of the team. Put them on full alert and confine them to home base until I arrive. Assume command here in my absence."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he turned to leave.

Beckman waited until he was almost out the door before she threw the covers off herself. After all, he didn't really need to see her sleepwear. "We'll continue this once I'm in the air," she called. "I want to be fully briefed on our analysis."

The Major didn't turn. He was obviously not any more interested in seeing what served as Beckman's pajamas than she was at showing them to him. "Yes, ma'am," he called over his shoulder.

**Sulivan's Nightclub - Burbank: **

Ellie and Janice were sitting at a table trying hard to keep a straight face. But it was hard. It was very hard. After all, Elise was at the bar working her magic on Andy. And he most definitely was not making it easy on her. His hands were all over her. So much so that it was on the very edge of what would be appropriate in a public place.

Ellie leaned in towards Janice to hide the smirk. "Let me get this straight," she said. "You made Elise go and ask this Andy guy for a favor and then you tipped him off that she would do anything to get him to go along?"

"Pretty much," Janice said. "Technically, it was Casey who told Andy. But that's a minor detail."

"Wow," Ellie said as she tried to control her laughing. "That's cold. What do you think he made her do?"

Ellie's eyes got wide as Janice whispered into her ear. The blush quickly traveled up her neck. "You're kidding," she gasped. "Janice, that's disgusting."

Janice laughed. "I'm just guessing," she said. "But I'll bet I'm right. It's what they always want." At that point Janice's phone began to ring. She could see that it was the NSA Command Center. "Ellie," she said as she stood up. "I'll be right back. I have to take this call."

**Home Base - Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Chuck and Sarah were sleeping. Well, they should have been sleeping anyway. At least, they were pretending to sleep. After all, it was after midnight… and they did have a three month old baby. That kind of limited their late night options. And for once, they were actually not cuddled together. Truth be told, they were sort of upset with each other.

Oh, it was nothing serious -- one of those silly arguments that all couples have from time to time. Chuck had probably even forgotten why they were arguing. But Sarah was going to be more than willing to remind him. After all, he knew dammed well that she was sensitive about her cooking. And, okay, so the casserole didn't turn out exactly like the picture on the recipe. But was that any reason to actually say something? The moron knew that she struggled in the kitchen. Couldn't he see that she was trying her best? If he had a brain in his head he would have just shut up and eaten it, called it delicious, and never asked her to make it again. But he didn't. Okay, even Sarah had to admit, it was pretty awful. But still – did he really have to say something?

So when they their cell phones rang at exactly the same instant, both sets of eyes immediately popped open.

**Sulivan's Nightclub - Burbank:**

Janice quickly stepped outside. There was no way to take a phone call in the noisy club. Getting a call from NSA Command Center wasn't really common – but it wasn't a cause for alarm either. It usually was only a courtesy. Being a senior agent, whenever something happened in their sector, they were notified. And usually it was nothing. A known perp was seen in the area. Or maybe a foreign dignitary was passing through town. Sometimes it was even a drill. "Beckman, secure," she answered.

"Agent Beckman," the voice said. "This is Major Collins."

That immediately got Janice's attention. Collins was General Beckman's Chief of Staff. Something was wrong. "Yes, sir," she said.

"We have a situation," Collins said. "You are directed to proceed to home base and await further instructions. You are to assume you are being pursued and defend yourself using any means necessary. Do you understand?"

Janice relaxed. This was obviously a drill. "Yes, sir," she said. "I am currently with Dr. Bartowski." Ellie and Devon were both designated as primary assets. After all, either one could be used to compromise Chuck. "How should I proceed with her?"

Janice smiled at the pause. Collins was obviously looking up this contingency in the drill instructions. It was a major gaffe to not have memorized them. The General was certainly going to have his ass.

"I'm not sure," Collins said. "Stand by while I patch you through to General Beckman."

That was Janice's first indication that this was no drill. Something was up.

After a single click it was the General on the line. "Hello, Janice," she said. "Where is Dr. Woodcomb?"

That made it official. The general using her first name meant only one thing. This was serious. "I believe that he's home ma'am," she said.

"And Colonel Casey?" Beckman asked.

"He's home," Janice said. "How should I proceed?"

"We need to assume that Dr. Bartowski has been compromised by her association with you. Take her with you to home base."

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said. "Agent Walters is here as well. Should she also report to home base?"

"Yes," Beckman said. "Assume hostile pursuit. Once you are at home base, assume an attempt to attack your location is imminent. Protect the assets and yourselves at all cost."

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said.

"Janice," Beckman said. "There was a vulnerability in her voice that Janice had never heard before. "Please be careful."

Janice knew that she needed to follow protocol. But she had just called her by her first name. Something was terribly wrong. And she had to know. "Mom," she said. "What's going on? Please tell me. Is Casey okay?"

"No time," Beckman said. "Colonel Casey is in no more danger than you are. That's all I can say. I'm in route. I'll brief you as soon as everyone is securely in home base. Until then, I'm counting on you."

"Yes, ma'am,"

"Janice," Beckman said. "I… I love you. I'll see you soon. Be careful."

As soon as Janice stepped back inside the club she walked directly up to Elise. "Code Blue," she said, making sure that only Elise could hear her. "Meet me outside in two. Assume active hostiles are in the area. I'll secure Ellie."

Elise really didn't know if Janice was serious or not. And she really didn't care. Facing active hostiles beat the hell out of being pawed by Andy any more tonight. "I'm sorry, Andy," she said. "Something has come up. I have to leave." She really didn't wait for a response. She thought that he called something about Saturday. But that honestly was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Janice walked over to where Ellie was sitting. "Come on, Ellie," she said. "I need you to come with me right now with no questions asked."

Something in Janice's tone must have told Ellie how serious she was. Because she didn't flinch. She simply got up and followed Janice out of the bar.

Janice knew that the first thing was to sweep the car for bugs. If there were electronics on the car, they would lead whoever was after them right to home base. And sure enough, the sweep was positive. _Damn it. The car was bugged_. That meant… Janice's spy instincts were ringing off the hook. She quickly pulled out her handgun and surveyed the area.

As soon as Elise saw Janice pull out her weapon, she realized her mistake. "I'm sorry," she said. "My locator is still on."

Janice didn't know if she should be more relieved… or pissed. Right now she was both. And the look that she flashed Elise was not exactly friendly. But as soon as Elise turned off her locator, the sweep came back clean. That was good news. But now Janice had a key decision to make. She knew that she was the best driver. But she also knew that she was the best shot. If they were indeed, being followed by hostiles, which skill would be more important? She had never seen Elise drive… but she had seen her shoot. So that decision was made. "Give the keys to Elise," Janice said to Ellie. "And get in the passenger seat."

"What's going on?" Ellie asked as Elise started the car and Janice climbed into the back seat.

"I'm not sure," Janice said, as much for Elise's benefit as Ellie's. "The call said to report to home base and assume we're being pursued. I need you to follow my instructions to the letter."

"Come on," Elise said. "This is a bullshit drill, right?"

"Most likely," Janice said as cheerfully as she could. But she locked eyes with Elise and shook her head slightly. Elise's eyes widened as she received the message.

Janice directed Elise to take a very indirect route back home. She even had her pull into a Walmart parking lot for a minute. All the while she kept a sharp lookout to see if they were being tailed. Finally she was convinced that there was no one following them and allowed Elise to drive to the house.

**Home Base - Communication Room:**

The first thing that Sarah did when she hung up the phone was to scoop up Kate and take her downstairs. There was a safe room that was designed to be a last line of defense in case the house was attacked. There was already a crib set up there for just this contingency. She gently sat Kate down in the crib. Thankfully, she didn't wake up. Sarah then went into the communication room where Chuck was busy firing up the perimeter surveillance cameras. A quick check showed no sign of any trouble. But Sarah was taking no chances. She went to the weapons room and cracked out two high powered rifles and some assorted side arms. Chuck and Sarah worked silently but efficiently as a team.

Finally, Chuck was convinced that they were relatively safe. And Sarah was clearly on edge. So he grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry that I made fun of your casserole," he said. "I was just trying to tease you. I didn't mean to actually hurt your feelings. I know that you're trying."

In spite of the tense situation, Sarah was forced to smile. It was classic Chuck. He always knew what to say to make her feel better. "I know, sweetie," she said. "I'm being too sensitive. It was pretty awful, wasn't it?"

"It was strategy," Chuck said. His face was nothing but serious. "I'm sorry that I doubted you. You're always the professional."

"Strategy?" Sarah asked in confusion.

Now one look at his face and there could be no question that he was teasing her. His eyes sparkled as the grin lit up his face. "Yeah," he said. "If the bad guys do come. We'll just heat the leftovers up and feed them. That'll teach em. They'll leave and never come back."

It was pretty dark in the room. The only lights came from the monitors. And since it was dark outside, they didn't give off much light – and she was in the shadow. So he couldn't see her laughing. But he could feel it as she put her head on his shoulder. It felt like heaven.

It felt so great to have someone know you so well that they always knew how to make you smile. No matter what the situation, Chuck could… well he could do pretty much anything. "Very funny," Sarah said.

Sarah could see on the monitor that Janice's car had pulled into the garage. She knew that in a matter of seconds they would have company. And that was a good thing. Now there would be four agents to defend against any attack. But she also knew that they were in lockdown. They would not be alone again for… who really knew? It might be hours. Makeup sex would definitely have to wait. And even that kiss would have to last them for a while.

So she made doubly sure that it did.

Right after Janice pulled into the garage, Casey's car with Casey and Devon quickly followed.

"I knew it," Casey's voice billowed as he marched down the stairs. "I knew you two would be down here in the dark playing grab ass."

"Hey, Casey," Chuck said. "Are you hungry?" It was a stupid question, really. Casey was always hungry.

Sarah's eyes caught Chuck's and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"We have some leftover casserole."

**End of Chapter **


	14. The Eiffel Tower

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Beckman has been hoping against hope that she won't have to ask Chuck to become a Dark Intersect and subject the team to the side effects. Well, her time is up. Now she only has to talk Sarah into it._

_**Warning: There is a fairly gruesome main character death in this chapter. Read at your own discretion.**_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Eiffel Tower**

**General Beckman's Personal Transport Plane - In route to Los Angelas: **

General Beckman leaned against the bathroom door as she splashed some water on her face. Airplane toilets were tiny under even the best of circumstances. And they certainly were not designed to throw up in.

One thing was for sure. Well, two things. First, the team was never seeing parts of this video. It was the sickest thing she had ever seen. It was the very first time in her life that watching something had made her physically ill. After all, she sort of prided herself on being tough. And she didn't even have a personal relationship with Agent Larkin. There was no telling what it would do to Chuck… or Sarah. Or even Janice or Elise.

Unfortunately, there were some things on the video that the team would need to see. The analysts were confident that Larkin was telling them something in code. And it was something that probably only Sarah would understand. It might be best if she could get Sarah alone to watch it. Unfortunately, she knew Chuck well enough to know that there was no way he was ever going to let that happen. And knowing the closeness of the team, there was no way they would let Chuck and Sarah suffer through that alone. So that meant showing, at least parts, to the whole team. That was something that she was going to need to do in person. But they could never learn of Colson's mocking offer to let the rest of the team live if Sarah would only surrender to him. Or of the ten minutes that followed where he told of his disgusting plans for her in vivid detail once he had her alone and helpless. Why lay that guilt on Sarah? What good would that do?

Oh, and the other thing that she knew for sure was that Adam Colson was the sickest bastard she had ever heard of. Beckman promised herself. He would never be dead enough. No matter what it took. This wasn't over until she saw his dead body.

**Home Base - Dining Room:**

It was very possible that Casey was smarter than Chuck. Of course, it was also just as likely that he was simply more afraid of Sarah than Chuck was. Whatever the reason, he ate the leftover casserole without comment. Of course, there was an outside chance that he didn't think it was so bad. Doubtful… but not impossible.

General Beckman had left word for the team to stay on alert until she arrived. So that meant someone had to monitor the surveillance monitors at all times. Chuck and Sarah volunteered to take the first shift while the others went upstairs and got a nap. Well, actually Sarah volunteered for them. And no one on the team was fooled. Sarah just wanted Chuck alone for some heavy petting. That much was clear. Thankfully, Chuck and Sarah's two hour shift ended without… well without incident.

Elise offered to take the next shift – probably because she felt so guilty about her gaffe with the locator earlier. But that left Casey and Janice for the last shift. General Beckman was about due to land. She had already ordered Casey to come and pick her up.

It was now morning. Ellie and Devon were busy making breakfast for the team when they heard Janice's call up the stairs. "Kate is crying," she said.

Ellie's eyes brightened as she walked towards the stairs. "I'll get her," she said.

But she felt Chuck's hand on her shoulder. "Let's give them a minute," he said.

Sarah knew the instant that she met Chuck's eye what he had in mind. So she nodded. "Pick her up," she called, trying not to laugh. "We'll be down in a minute."

"Wonder which one will pick her up?" Elise said with a grin as she sat at the table with her cup of coffee.

"It will have to be Janice," Chuck said.

"No way," Sarah said. "Janice will never do it. Our regular bet says I'm right."

"You're on," Chuck said with a grin. "Let's give them a minute."

"Bet?" Ellie asked. "What kind of bet?"

"Trust me, sis," Chuck said. "You don't want to know."

When Sarah called down for them to pick her up, Casey and Janice just stared at each other for a long moment.

"Don't look at me," Casey finally said.

"Why do you think it should be me?" Janice asked incredulously. "I've never held a baby in my life."

"It's obvious," Casey said. "Because you're the…"

"If the words 'you're the girl' come out of your mouth," Janice quickly interrupted. "You're going to forget what a girl even looks like. Am I clear?"

"Yes," Casey said meekly. "I wasn't going to say that." Then he turned away. "Not now anyway," he said to himself under his breath.

"I just let you act like a big shot to your friend Andy," Janice said. "And need I remind you of the performance that I put on yesterday afternoon with that blue see-through number? If your moaning was any indication… and I think that it was… you seemed to enjoy it. Seems to me that you finally owe me one here. Now if you ever want to see the red one while you're still young enough to do anything about it, you'll get your ass in there and pick up Kate."

**Home Base:**

If Sarah had any worries how Devon and Ellie were going to handle the tense situation, they were quickly eliminated. Ellie was having far too much fun with Kate to worry about anything as trivial as bad guys coming and killing them. After all, Sarah had to talk Ellie out of waking her up last night. And now that she was awake, Ellie hadn't put her down for a single second. And Devon was obviously having just as much fun just watching Ellie have fun. And it didn't hurt that Kate was also enjoying the extra attention.

Casey had just left to go get General Beckman. And although an attack was becoming more and more unlikely, the situation was still very tense. Obviously something was up. For Beckman to order a code blue and show up in person, something was terribly wrong.

Naturally, Sarah knew all that better than anybody. But in spite of the tension, she was having a hard time keeping the grin off her face. After all, she had been waiting for a whole year to win one of those damn bets. It had finally, at long last, happened. So now all that Sarah could think about was getting these damn people out of her house so that she could collect. Chuck had no clue – but what Sarah had planned… After all, she had a whole year to come up with it.

**LAX - Secure Military Tarmac:**

Normally the head of the NSA didn't go anywhere without her impressive security detail. After all, she had enemies that had nothing to do with Fulcrum or the intersect. But that simply wouldn't be appropriate in this case. For a couple of reasons really. If anybody was watching, a large security detail would be conspicuous. And that would simply draw attention to herself. That's the last thing that she wanted.

There was also the fact that she wanted as few people as possible to know the location of the team. After all, they could never tell who Colson was going to grab and torture next. If he could get someone who knew the address, it was game over.

So when Casey pulled up to where the plane was parked, he was surprised to see her come out in plain dress. "Good morning, ma'am," he said as she got into the car.

"It's Dianne, John," Beckman said. "For the next half hour, I'm not your commanding office. I'll be ma'am again once we get to home base without being followed… but not now. Do you understand?"

Casey's face showed his confusion. "Okay," he said. "Dianne…"

Beckman smiled at his awkwardness. That alone was unusual -- especially given the tenseness of the situation. "Your commanding officer is a real hard ass," she said. "I make no apologies for that. But I'm afraid you ain't seen nuthin yet."

Casey just swallowed.

"For the next half hour," Beckman said firmly. "You're going to have to convince a fairly skeptical mother why I should be okay with you marrying my only daughter."

**Home Base - Communication Room:**

It was actually a good thing that Devon and Ellie were there. Because Sarah needed to be in the briefing. And Kate wasn't close to going down for a nap. She was clearly having a blast with her Aunt Ellie. But not nearly anywhere close to the fun that Aunt Ellie was having.

As usual, General Beckman took tight control of the meeting. As soon as she put Colson's picture on the monitor, Chuck clearly flashed. It was the first time that the General had ever witnessed a flash in person.

"That's Adam Colson, ma'am," Chuck said. "He is a Fulcrum agent. Is he dead?"

"No, Chuck," Beckman said. "Unfortunately not. Colson survived your attack. We're fairly certain that he was the only survivor."

To her credit, Elise was the first to draw the right conclusion. "So, ma'am," she said. "Adam Colson is now an intersect?"

"Very good, Agent Walters," Beckman said with the slight tint of a smile. "Yes, Colson is now an intersect."

Sarah's mood brightened considerably. _They want us to help capture him. But why the Code Blue? Just a stupid overreaction? Let's get this over with. I have a bet to collect_. "So, ma'am," she said. "How do you want us to proceed? I assume that you want the team to find and capture him."

In spite of the tenseness of the situation, Beckman couldn't help but smile. It was hard to stay ahead of this team. They usually figured it out before one could say it. "Yes, Agent Walk… umm… Sarah," she said. "Unfortunately, it is going to be much more difficult and dangerous than you're thinking."

Janice scoffed at the thought that this one agent could be a challenge for this team. "How?" she quickly asked. Then she remembered decorum. "Umm… I mean, how, ma'am?"

"I'm afraid that Colson is not an intersect in the same way as Chuck," Beckman said. "He is much more powerful,"

That got Sarah's attention. "More powerful, ma'am?" she asked.

Beckman couldn't help but smile as she recognized Sarah's protective instinct kick in. If Adam Colson could see the determination in her eyes right now, he wouldn't be nearly so arrogant. "I'm afraid so," she said. "You see, Fulcrum was experimenting with the intersect. The first version, the one Chuck has, only has information. That's incredibly valuable. But Fulcrum theorized that they could also encode physical skills. That's the version that Colson now has."

"Skills?" Chuck asked. "What kind of skills?"

"Name it," Beckman said. "Almost any skill one can imagine, Colson now has access to. He can fluently speak any language, can perfectly execute any combat move, build or disarm any weapon, decode any encryption algorithm… in short, he can do practically anything that any human can do."

"He sounds like Superman," Chuck said. "How do we fight Superman?"

"He's still human," Beckman said. "He can't do anything that a human can't do. He can't flap his arms and fly. If he was shot in the right spot, he'd die. It's just that his defensive abilities are so formidable that it's hard to imagine getting in that position. And, Chuck, it's a good question. The only way that we can figure out how to fight him is to have our own Superman."

If Beckman thought she saw Sarah's protective instinct before, it was now clear… and now that instinct was in Beckman's face screaming. "No way," Sarah screamed as she pushed Chuck behind her. "There is no way in hell that is happening. How much can you guys really expect from one man? He's already given more than any twenty people put together. You can go to hell… all of you."

General Beckman was a tough cookie. She had time and again ordered good people into situations that she knew they had little chance to survive. She had been the one to hand the folded flag to their loved ones more times then she could count. But something about the desperation in Sarah's voice broke her heart. "Relax, Sarah," she said as calmly as she could. "You're right. Chuck has done far more than anyone could ever expect. Nobody is going to ask him to do anything that he doesn't want to do. If you decide that it is not worth it, I have no problem. We'll figure something else out."

Sarah was clearly far to angry to immediately understand what she was saying. The flare in her nostrils said that in spades.

"But," Beckman continued. "Please hear me out for a minute. I'm afraid that there's more."

**Home Base - Living Room:**

Devon finally figured it out as he watched Ellie play with Kate. It shouldn't have been that difficult. After all, it was written all over her face. But, he could probably be forgiven. This was a side of Ellie that he had never seen before. She was probably the most driven person that he had ever known. Every since medical school, her career was almost everything to her. And if not for Chuck and himself, it would have been everything. She was time and again, willing to subject herself to self discipline and personal sacrifice to be the best at what she did. And she absolutely was.

But as Devon watched his fiancé lying on the floor, playing peek-a-boo with Kate on that blanket… the light bulb finally came on. "You really want this," he said. "Don't you?"

Ellie didn't answer him -- not verbally anyway. But the look in her face and the tears that were starting to form in her eyes as she nodded said it as clearly as if she had shouted it.

Devon really hadn't given much thought to the idea of starting a family. Not yet anyway. Oh, he assumed they eventually would. But somehow he always pictured that as years down the road. After all, they were both approaching the very tops of their careers. And a baby would change their lives in ways that he couldn't even imagine. But he knew that he couldn't deny her. Not when she wanted it so badly. And even Devon had to admit… the idea was starting to grow on him as well. So he smiled at her. "Okay, babe," he said. "I'm in. Let's do this."

Devon had never seen the smile on her face that he was now seeing. "Of course," he quickly added. "Maybe we should actually get married first."

**Home Base - Communication Room:**

Sarah really wasn't interested in hearing anything more. "Go to hell," she said. She grabbed Chuck's wrist and began to pull him out of the room. As far as she was concerned the meeting was over. "You'll have our resignations in your hand later this morning."

Chuck softly pulled her back. "Shouldn't we at least listen to what she has to say?" he asked.

Sarah knew all about decorum. After all, their commanding officer was in the room. But at this point she couldn't have cared less. She wrapped her arms around Chuck as tightly as she could. "Please," she whispered. "Please don't listen to her. I know you, sweetie. She'll talk you into it. We both know it. Please, Chuck… I'm begging you. I never ask you this… but please… do this for me."

"I'll tell you what," Chuck said into the top of Sarah's head. "We'll listen… and if you say no, then its no. Does that sound fair?"

"Do you promise?" Sarah asked. "If I say no…"

"I won't do anything that you're not completely on board with," Chuck said. "I promise."

Sarah slowly pulled herself out of Chuck's embrace and faced Beckman. "Okay," she said tentatively. "We'll listen. But understand something. There is no way in hell."

**Home Base - Communication Room:**

The team had just finished watching the video of Ben Adam's torture and murder.

But Sarah was less than impressed. "Well," she said. "That wasn't really pleasant to watch. But I hope that you understand that Ben Adams was not my favorite person in the world. If you really think that I'm going to allow you to use Chuck to avenge Ben Adams… not going to happen. And, so what? He knows who we are. He doesn't know where we are. Let the bastard try something. Maybe we should let him know where we are. I'd love the chance to kick his ass around the room."

"You'd lose," Beckman said gently. "Sarah, haven't you been listening? Adam Colson is a world class expert in every fighting skill ever devised. You wouldn't last ten seconds against him. None of you would. And we don't think that he knows where you are right now. But it's only a matter of time. And once he finds out, he will have you. You'll simply have no way to fight him."

"I don't understand, ma'am," Casey said. "One bullet to the brain would kill this bastard. Let him show up and I'll end him."

"He would never put himself in that situation," Beckman said. "You folks have got to get out of your mind that you are facing a normal person here. This man now is an expert at every tactical, strategic, psychological, and physical skill known to man. He will find you, pick a situation where you're vulnerable, and extract his revenge when he has you helpless. Whatever plan you have to defeat him, he'll be ten moves ahead of you. The only way to have a chance is to have our own intersect to go head to head with him."

"No way," Sarah said. "You haven't even come close yet to convincing me. Any agent in their second week of training could have captured Ben Adams."

"I know," Beckman said. "I agree. Ben Adams was not that impressive. But the next thing I am going to show you is different. I want to warn you. This is horrible to watch. I'm only going to show you about a minute of about an hour of video. But I'm afraid that there is another victim."

"Who," Janice asked.

"Bryce Larkin,"

To the team's credit, there was no visible reaction when she told them about Bryce. So she played the video. It had clearly been doctored to intentionally blur parts of the screen. One couldn't even really tell that it was Bryce until he spoke. And even then, the pain in his voice was heart breaking.

_Bryce struggled to get the words out. "I just want to tell you, Sarah," he said in broken speech. "I love you. I always have. I'll always remember when I proposed to you in front of the Eiffel Tower – and you said yes. It was the happiest moment of my life."_

Beckman stopped the video. "Our analysts believe that is code," she said. "They believe that Bryce was trying to tell Sarah something. Do you have an idea of what it could be?"

Watching that few seconds of video was the second most horrible thing Sarah had ever seen. But the most horrible thing was the look that was currently in Chuck's eyes. After all, taking Sarah to Paris was his biggest dream. They talked about it almost every night. And now he was standing there thinking that she had been to Paris with Bryce. Not only that – she had accepted his marriage proposal there and kept that from him. That would simply be crushing to him. The fact that he wouldn't meet her eye confirmed his mood. She just had to make him understand. But first things first.

Sarah struggled to get the words out. After all, she cared for Bryce. She knew that Chuck did too. And Bryce had just died. And in his dying breath, he had given them the clue that could possibly give them a fighting chance. Bryce had died the same way that he had lived – a hero's hero. She tried to speak a couple of times but no sound would come. "Yes, ma'am," she finally was able to squeak out though her tears. "They are in Las Vegas."

**End of Chapter**


	15. The Deal

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Should Chuck take the Dark Intersect? It is really Sarah's decision. Which would be worse? Facing Colson? Or watching Chuck change before her eyes?_

_It looks like the site is messing up and not includding the scene markers. It makes it look like one long scene._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Deal**

**Home Base - The Safe Room:**

Chuck and Sarah were excused from the briefing to talk. After all, they had a decision to make. They now knew enough of the facts – the risks and rewards – to make that decision. And Beckman was smart enough to realize that it was really all up to Chuck and Sarah… well mostly Sarah. So they went into the safe room. It was private and secure. But it was going to be a tough talk. For one thing, Chuck still wouldn't meet Sarah's eye. So that had to be taken care of first.

As soon as Chuck closed the door, Sarah turned to him and grabbed both of his hands. "Sweetie, I know what you're thinking," she said. "I can see it in your face. And you're wrong."

Chuck finally looked into Sarah's eye. "What am I thinking," he said.

Sarah was now more than a little exasperated. "Come on, Chuck," she said. "Who are you talking too? Do you really think I can't tell what you're thinking? You think that Bryce and I were engaged in Paris. Admit it."

"Weren't you?" Chuck asked.

"No," Sarah said. "Of course not. Bryce and I have never been to Paris, we've never seen the Eiffel Tower, and we've never been engaged. Do you really think I would keep something like that from you?"

Chuck just shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe," he said. "If you thought something would hurt me – I could see you not telling me some things."

Sarah had to smile… and nod. "Fair enough," she said. "You're right. I might not tell you about something if I thought it would hurt you. And there was a time when I was willing to lie to you to save your feelings. But that has changed. We're married. I would never lie to you. Not anymore. We've been past that for a long time. You know that, I hope."

Chuck just nodded.

"So here's what happened," Sarah said. "We were in Vegas on a mission and we were in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel waiting for a contact. Bryce proposing was a running joke between us. What he was really proposing was that we sleep together. He had actually proposed that several times already. But that night, for the very first time, I surprised him and finally accepted. And that's why I've never told you the story. I wasn't hiding anything from you. I just didn't think you'd be all that interested in hearing about the first time Bryce and I slept together."

"You're right," Chuck said. "I'm really not."

"Bryce knew that Colson would make the same assumption that you just did," Sarah said. "That we were in Paris. That's why he left it in the video. But Bryce was telling us where they were. Bryce was being our friend up until the bitter end. His very last words were trying to help us. That should make us feel a little better. I know that it's tough to hear about his death – especially in such a horrible way. It is for me. And I know that it is for you too."

Chuck wrapped his arms around her. "I know," he said.

"And just for the record," Sarah said. "I have seen the Eiffel Tower before – several times, actually. But never in a romantic setting. And you'll never know how much I'm looking forward to seeing it with you for the first time. It will be one of the highlights of my life. Do you know why?"

Chuck smiled.

"Of course you do," Sarah said. "But I'm going to tell you anyway. Because I know how much you're looking forward to it. It's something that I want to share with my true love."

"When?" Chuck asked expectantly.

Sarah laughed. "Not for a while," she said. "Chuck, we have a baby. You can't take a baby to Paris. It's a ten hour flight."

"Ellie could watch her," Chuck said hopefully.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Sarah said. "But we can't leave Kate with Ellie for a whole week until she's a little older. At least a year. Are you telling me that you could leave Kate behind right now and still enjoy yourself?"

Chuck just sighed. "I guess not," he said. "We'll wait and do it right. Besides that's not what we're supposed to be in here talking about… is it?"

**Home Base - Communications Room:**

As soon as Chuck and Sarah left to talk, General Beckman turned to where Casey and Janice were sitting. "Could Agent Walters and I have the room for a minute?" she asked. "There are some things that we need to talk about."

Casey and Janice got up and walked out of the room without comment. As soon as they left, Beckman turned to Elise. "Do you understand what it is that we're asking you to do?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Elise said. "My assignment is to go undercover with Chuck, find and attempt to make contact with Colson by telling him that I'm still loyal to Fulcrum, and introduce Chuck to him as a new recruit."

Beckman sighed. "No Elise," she said. "Oh, you just stated your assignment correctly. There is no question but that it is a vital assignment. And we appreciate your dedication in volunteering. But that's not what I asked. Do you understand what we're asking you to do?"

"I guess I'm confused, ma'am," Elise said. For one thing, she didn't remember volunteering for anything. But that really didn't matter. There wasn't much that she wouldn't do for Chuck and Sarah – so she would have volunteered – gladly.

Beckman really didn't know how to proceed. She didn't want to give Elise an order. For one thing, that would not be appropriate. And she needed some level of deniability. But Elise was key to getting the team through this. "You heard all about the side effects," she finally said. "Did you understand them? Chuck may become a different person for a while."

"Yes, ma'am," Elise said. She had listened to the briefing about the possible side effects with the same horror that the rest of the team felt.

"If he does change, you will have no way to resist his… well… his advances," Beckman said. "It would be the worst thing that could happen. He might actually become violent towards you. He might need you to be… umm… understanding… while he learns to control the changes in his head. It would be a shame if those details got back to Sarah and destroyed their relationship – especially since it was not really him. That would almost be worse than anything that Colson could do. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Elise just sighed. This was the worst assignment that she had ever received. And the funny part was the risking her life portion of it was not even the bad part. Oh, it was very real. If Sarah wouldn't last for ten seconds against Colson, what chance did she have? And Colson was going to expect her to prove her loyalty before she had any chance of introducing Chuck to him. And it was pretty clear how that was going to go. But now, it was plain. Beckman expected her to allow Chuck to experiment with controlling the intersect on her. That would almost certainly happen in bed. And then she'd have to look, not only her friend, but her professional hero straight in the eye and lie to her face about it. No two ways about it… it sucked. Elise struggled to keep her composure. So she took a deep breath. "Yes, ma'am," she finally said. "I understand."

**Home Base - The Safe Room:**

Sarah just looked into Chuck's eyes for a long moment. "You promised me," she finally whispered.

"I know," Chuck said quickly. "And I meant it. If you really say no, then it's no. But what are we going to do? This problem isn't just going to go away."

"We could run," Sarah said softly. "I know that we've talked about that and ruled it out before. But this would be different. The government wouldn't be after us. We could cash out everything -- just take Kate and move someplace as Charles and Sarah Smith. We wouldn't tell anybody where we were or what our new names are. Colson would never know who to even look for."

Chuck knew that Sarah was emotional. And that he'd better tread lightly. So he gently rubbed the back of her hands with this thumbs. "That might work for us," he said. "But understand what it also means. It means that we never see our friends and family again. It means that Kate grows up never knowing her Aunt Ellie. And what about Casey and Janice? What about Ellie and Devon? What happens if that sick bastard finds them?"

"Chuck," Sarah said. "I'm scared. You heard all about the side effects. Thinking you're a God? Having no conscience? I just don't think I can handle watching you change that dramatically."

"I also heard that those effects could be controlled," Chuck said. "Sarah, can you really see me thinking I'm a God?"

"Maybe not," Sarah said. "I hope not."

"Besides, you left off an important side effect," Chuck said. "Let's face it. It's the one that you're really worried about."

"Okay," Sarah sighed. "Yes. I'll admit. I'm not crazy about you going undercover with Elise while you're under the control of an intersect that's making you sexually aggressive."

"I would never betray you," Chuck said. "I can't really tell you how I can know that so surely. But I do. It's simply not going to happen. Please stop worrying about it."

"If I agree to this," Sarah said. "I have a condition."

"Shoot," Chuck said.

"If we do this," Sarah said. "And it's more powerful than you anticipate. And you do fall… please don't let it ruin us. I still want you to come back. Promise me that, no matter what, you'll come back to me."

"I promise," Chuck said. "But it's not going to happen."

"You just can't know that," Sarah insisted. "Understand clearly what I'm saying. I am not giving you permission to have sex with Elise. I am not. I want you to fight it as hard as you possibly can. If you fall, I'll be hurt. But I just want my husband back. We'll get through it."

"I know," Chuck whispered. "Please don't worry about it."

"There is something else," Sarah said.

Chuck's eyes told her to continue.

Sarah paused for a moment – but then she continued. "This might sound silly," she said. "But I've been waiting for a whole year. I don't want to get cheated."

Chuck's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I don't understand," he said.

"Our bet," Sarah sighed. "I finally won. And now I won't have time to collect."

Chuck just smiled. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll make sure that you collect. No matter what happens. I've been looking forward to seeing what you come up with. How about this? We'll do this one last mission. And after it's over we'll get out of the spy life for good. We'll raise our family like normal people."

That certainly got Sarah's attention. Her face noticeably brightened. "Really," she said. "You would do that? Is that something that you really want to do?"

"Absolutely," Chuck said. "Let's face it. We're getting tired of having Kate be threatened all the time. We're a family. That has to be our top priority now."

"I agree," said Sarah. "Okay, sweetie. I'll go along. I'm not happy about it. But okay. We do this last thing – and as soon as we bury this bastard, we're out. But…"

"But?" Chuck questioned.

Sarah smiled in spite if the seriousness of the situation. "Once this is over, I'm still expecting to collect my bet," she said. "I've been planning this for a year. I expect your full… umm… your full and active participation."

**Home Base - Communications Room:**

Beckman was hesitant in how to proceed. She wanted to make sure that Chuck was intersected in a controlled environment. After all, it was a very rigid test. It was fatal for almost anybody. And all they knew was that Chuck – and Adam Colson – had survived it once. That was no guarantee that Chuck would survive it again.

But she also didn't want to delay. And, more importantly, she didn't want to attract any more attention to Chuck or their location. After all, surprise was going to be Chuck's main weapon. Colson wasn't expecting to have to face another intersect.

Fortunately, as it turned out, there was no need to worry. There were two world class doctors on site. And even more fortunately, Kate was finally taking her long overdue morning nap. That meant that Ellie could finally concentrate on more trivial things – like her only brother's life.

Ellie and Devon consulted with the doctors in Washington via video conference. But they weren't much help. Not much was known about why the intersect was fatal in almost everybody. None of the autopsies had given any clue as to the cause of death. All they could assume was that something happened to the nervous system to cause the body's vital systems to shut down. So there really wasn't much they could do, other than making the environment as easy on Chuck's systems as possible.

Ellie insisted on starting an IV. They had also hooked Chuck up to the normal mass of assorted vital bodily function monitors. That way if they had to react to something, they could do it quickly. Fortunately the base was well stocked with medical equipment and supplies.

Giving Chuck the intersect file was actually the easy part. It was stored on Beckman's laptop. All he had to do was watch the file. The tricky part was setting it up so that Ellie and Devon could monitor Chuck – without getting themselves killed by accidentally watching it. They set it up in the communication room. That way the folks in Washington could also monitor the process. After all, they had never seen anybody be intersected either.

Chuck came through the process okay. It was Ellie who almost had a heart attack. She watched Chuck's pulse and blood pressure rise to alarming levels – well into the red. And he lost consciousness for a moment, but they were expecting that. After a few minutes recovery, all his vitals were back in the normal range – and he was pronounced none the worse for wear. The folks in Washington had devised a test – which Chuck easily passed. He was able to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese, demonstrate a perfect floor exercise using the rings in the training room, and solve a ridiculously hard mathematical problem in three minutes.

It was now abundantly clear. Chuck was officially certified as the world's second valid intersect – 2.0 level.

**Home Base - Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Sarah was waiting for Chuck in their bedroom. The doctors had suggested that Sarah not be present while Chuck was receiving the intersect. And for once that day she wholeheartedly agreed with then. The very last thing that she wanted was to watch Chuck go through that. And if something went wrong – well that was to horrible to even think about.

So when Chuck walked into the bedroom, Sarah was beyond a nervous wreck. She immediately jumped off the bed to face him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Chuck didn't answer her. Instead he just stood there and overtly checked her out starting from her head and moving down her body to her feet and back up again – pausing on both trips conspicuously at her chest. "I want to see you naked," he said flatly. "Then we'll talk."

Sarah's heart sank. Even though she was fully expecting this, it was still heart breaking. The side effects were real. Well, at least it was her and not Elise. Not yet anyway.

Chuck saw Sarah swallow. He then watched in horror as she wordlessly began to unbutton her blouse. Chuck quickly grabbed her hands. "Oh my God," he said. "Sarah, you know that I'm only teasing you, don't you? I'm fine."

Sarah knew that she should be pissed – very, very pissed. But she couldn't bring herself to be. She was far too relieved. So she threw herself into Chuck's arms.

"I'm so sorry," Chuck said. "I thought you would know that I was just teasing. I feel terrible."

Now Sarah's heart was soaring. It was the best news she had ever heard. Maybe… just maybe… "I thought that the intersect wasn't supposed to have a conscience," she said.

"They were obviously wrong," Chuck said. "After all, they're the same people who said that an agent falling in love with her asset would be a disaster. Being wrong is what they're best at."

Sarah had to agree. "They are wrong a lot," she said.

Chuck squeezed Sarah tightly. "I'm sorry that I teased you," he said. "I really don't think that this is the intersect talking -- but I have to admit. I actually wouldn't mind seeing you naked."

Sarah just laughed. "After the stunt that you just pulled?" she said. "You can forget about that for a long time, mister."

But seeing the horror on Chuck's face caused Sarah to quickly kiss him. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "Now I'm just teasing you."

**End of Chapter**


	16. New Partner

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Some changes to the team. Chuck and Elise go undercover as a couple for the first time. And Team B gets a new member. Will we like him any more than Janice does?_

_The site seems to be messing with my scene markers. So I'm going to try a little bit of a new format._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**New Partner**

**LAX – Secured Military Tarmac:**

Casey was once again back at the airport waiting for a plane to finish taxiing. Beckman had informed the team that she was temporarily assigning another agent to join them. It made some sense. After all, with Elise and Chuck being undercover, another gun for protection couldn't hurt. Especially since it was still very possible that they could be facing an attack. So she ordered him to go to the airport and pick him up.

Casey wasn't really sure why Beckman 'asked' Sarah to come with him. Probably to get her out of the house more than anything. She was definitely showing signs of going stir crazy. And Chuck needed some time to go over mission details with his partner. After all, it was Elise, not Sarah, who would be the difference maker. Casey had to admit, it was nice to be on an assignment with Sarah again. It almost felt like old times. Even if the assignment was more suited to the skills of a taxi driver than an agent. Maybe they would get a good tip.

Unfortunately, Sarah obviously didn't quite share his nostalgic sentiment. She tried to get out of going by claiming Kate as an excuse. But Ellie, the rat, ruined that for her by never putting Kate down for a single second. "I can't believe that Beckman is sending another agent," she snapped. "How many people is she going to tell that Chuck is the intersect?"

"Apparently, he already knew," Casey said. "He's been working on security for the analytical team in Washington. That's why she picked him in the first place."

Sarah was not impressed. "We have a houseful as it is," she grumbled. "Where are we going to put everybody?"

Casey's eyes lit up as he saw an opportunity to engage in his favorite activity – needling his old partner. "Chuck will be gone," he said as he looked out the window. "One side of your bed will be empty."

One thing was clear. Sarah wasn't nearly as unhappy about going on a mission again as she was letting on – even one so lame. It had been a long time since she was able to hide an assortment of weapons on her body… and that her body actually looked like a CIA agent again. The workouts were definitely starting to pay off. It felt… well, it felt great. "Very funny," she said. "What is this guy's name again?"

"Agent West," Casey said. "Joe West. Have you ever heard of him?"

"No," Sarah said. "You?"

Sarah may never have met Joe West before – but she had met plenty like him. That was plain before he was even in the car. _Sure, he is good looking_. After all, most agents were. _But he clearly knows it._ Again, most agents did. But that wasn't the real issue. Over the years she had developed a sixth sense when a man was picturing her without many clothes. Not that it had necessarily always been a horrible thing – she had long ago learned to ignore it. But that was B.C. – Before Chuck. And this guy had her horn dog alarms ringing off the night stand. _Could he possibly be more obvious?_ Even after she mentioned her husband three different times, his eyes were still fixed to her chest like velcro. He was exactly the type of guy that she and Janice would have had a blast toying with in the old days. But Sarah was now past that. After all, she was married. She was too tired to get excited over the prospect of seeing his face when she shot him down. But then Sarah smiled. _Now Janice, on the other hand… Maybe there was some fun to be had here after all._

**Home Base – The Safe Room:**

General Beckman led Janice into the safe room. It was the only place in the house that allowed for a secure conversation other than the communication's room. And that was currently being used to brief Chuck on his new 2.0 capabilities.

"I'm sorry, Janice," Beckman said. "I know that we need to talk about the wedding. But I'm afraid that I don't have time, right now. I promise that I'll…"

"Yes, ma'am," Janice gently interrupted. "I'm sorry. I understand that you're busy. But this is actually an Agent Beckman visit."

Pure surprise caused Beckman to pause for a moment. "Okay, Agent Beckman," she said. "What can I do for you?"

Janice looked at the floor. She was clearly awkward. "I want to make sure that you understand," she said. "This is not a reflection on Agent Walters' character or ability."

Beckman nodded.

"And this is not personal, ma'am," Janice continued. "I just question if Agent Walters is the best choice to go undercover with Chuck at this time."

"Why do you think that?" Beckman asked as a faint smile began to appear.

"You heard the briefing, ma'am," Janice said. "Chuck is going to be struggling… with a lot of things. He needs someone to get him through this. Someone who he is familiar with. Someone who he is comfortable with. And just as important, someone who Sarah is comfortable with. This is going to be very hard on her."

"I assume that you have a replacement in mind," Beckman said. Now there could be no mistaking the smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said. She lifted her head and looked Beckman into the eye for the first time. "I should go. I can help him cope with the changes that he is going to go through -- the things that he is going to have to learn to deal with. He needs me."

"You do understand," Beckman said as softly as she could. "What is likely to happen if you were to be alone with him? You're a newly engaged woman. Chuck is not the same as a mark. You two have – well almost something of a history. Wouldn't that cause personal issues for you?"

"No ma'am," Janice said. "I completely realize what might happen. And that's the main reason I'm in here. If that is going to happen with someone other than Sarah, it should be me. Someone who loves him and who he loves. I understand that you think my emotions for Chuck border on inappropriate. And at one point, you may have been correct. But I can assure you ma'am – that's no longer true. Casey and I have already had this discussion. He is fully supportive. Please, ma'am. Let me do this."

General Beckman had to pause for a moment to make sure that her voice didn't break. _Wow. This team…_ "I really admire your dedication to each other," she finally said. "It's truly incredible."

"Thank you, ma'am," Janice said. "So, I can proceed?"

"I'm sorry, Agent Beckman," Beckman said. "It can't be you. I wish it could – but it just doesn't work. Colson knows you. He would flash on you in a second. We can't have you anywhere near him. You're one of the main ones that he is after. Not only would it blow Chuck's cover – you'd be helpless with him. And we saw with Bryce Larkin how horrible that would turn out. Colson thinks that Agent Walters is Fulcrum. It will be a natural way to get close to him."

Now the tears were beginning to slowly flow down Janice's cheeks. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "I understand all of that. But I'm willing to take that risk. I think that Chuck's mental state is far more important to a successful outcome than those other factors. If the intersect is functioning properly – we can be successful. If not – well, Chuck is not coming back. It's really as simple as that. And after everything that he's done… I'm his best shot. He needs me. Please ma'am."

Beckman could only stare in amazement. "Colonel Casey is really okay with this?" she asked. "That's amazing."

"Yes ma'am," Janice said. "Casey… umm… I mean Colonel Casey is quite amazing. I'm very lucky."

General Beckman recognized Janice's vulnerability… and it broke her heart. But it was impossible. More than impossible, it was suicide. So she did something that she had never done before. She grabbed an agent and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Janic… umm… Agent Beckman," she whispered, fighting to keep control of her own emotion. "I understand what you're feeling. I really do. But your request is denied."

**Home Base – Communications Room:**

General Beckman called a team meeting in the Communications Room -- for a few reasons really. First was the news that Bryce Larkin's coded message had hit pay dirt. Sarah was right. A review of Vegas casino surveillance footage showed Colson several times. He was obviously moving around a lot… and he was also obviously making an effort to disguise his appearance… but it was definitely him. Not only that, Chuck was able to flash on several of the ex Fulcrum Agents that were with him. That was good to know – on several levels. First, they now knew that they weren't only facing Colson. But even more importantly, it proved that Colson was receptive to recruiting Fulcrum Agents as his team. That would make Elise even more valuable in getting to him. Beckman wanted Chuck and Elise to move quickly. Who knew how long he would stay in Vegas?

The other reason for the team meeting was not nearly so pleasant. Beckman introduced their new teammate, Agent West. And Chuck had already developed a moderate dislike for Agent West. After all, his gaze had barely left Sarah's chest the entire meeting. Okay, so it was a nice chest… well, a very nice chest. But come on already. And he could tell that Sarah noticed it too. Well, she would have to be asleep not to notice it. But she was clearly sending West signals. She would never lay her head on Chuck's shoulder in a meeting… unless she was using it to say something.

After the meeting was over, Chuck made up his mind to go say something to him. Chuck really wasn't a macho guy. And he was a little embarrassed at how possessive it seemed. But really – this guy needed a clue. He was on his way over when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He turned to assure Sarah that it would be okay. He wasn't really looking for trouble. The problem was – it wasn't Sarah.

"He's a piece of work," Janice said. "Isn't he?" Her eyes sparkled as she was clearly enjoying himself.

"He knows we're married," Chuck said with his own grin. "Doesn't he?"

"He probably thinks it's not all that real," Janice said. "Agents being married are very rare. It's almost always a cover or a convenience thing. And you realize that if you go running over there all macho, he'll get all macho back? You'll make it a challenge to him."

Chuck looked at Janice in surprise. "What are you saying?" he asked. "Do you think that he has a shot? I guess he is Sarah's type."

"Come on, Chuck," Janice said with a grin. "Be serious. You can't possibly be threatened by him. That's just silly. He used to be Sarah's type -- for a night, maybe. Not anymore. He has a better chance at getting you into bed than he does Sarah."

"Why would you tell me that?" Chuck asked through a laugh. "That's just wrong."

Janice couldn't help but to join Chuck's laughter. "Sorry," she said. "It's just that young hotshot agents like him are so successful with woman that they start to think that every single woman they meet, single or not, is just dying to jump into their bed. I can't tell you how many men like that we had to deal with at the academy. Sarah and I got to be sort of experts at it."

"Wow," Chuck said. "And I thought I was the one who was supposed to develop a God complex. Someone needs to clue him in. Maybe if he took a look at Kate…"

"I know," Janice laughed. "Trust me, Chuck. Beckman is not letting me go to Vegas with you. But don't worry…"

There was a mischievous look in Janice's eyes that Chuck had never seen before.

"I've got this one."

**Home Base – The Safe Room:**

Sarah saw that Janice was dealing with Chuck. That was good. It was one less thing that Sarah would have to worry about. It would be better coming from Janice anyway. So she went up to Elise and virtually dragged her into the safe room as soon as the meeting was over. She noticed right away that Elise wouldn't meet her eye. She also knew that something had to change – and that time was up.

"I just want to tell you how proud I am of you," Sarah said. "I have total confidence that Chuck is going to be in good hands."

"Thank you, ma'am," Elise said. "I'm going to do my very best."

Sarah just stared at her. "Why are you trying to hurt my feelings," she said.

Elise was shocked. Pure surprise caused her to lift her head up and look at Sarah.

But Sarah was clearly frustrated. "I've done every thing that I can think of to be your friend," she said. "And yet you're still calling me ma'am. My name is Sarah. If you call me ma'am again, I'm going to start bawling. Why can't we be friends? You call Janice, by her name. Why am I not Sarah?"

Elise was horrified. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's not meant to offend you. The opposite. It's meant to show you how much I respect you. You're a legend."

Sarah noticeably winced. "That's nice of you to say," she said. "But even if it's true, legends are symbols of the past. Sweetie, you're the present."

Elise could feel the tears filling her eyes. "You just called me sweetie," she said. "You only call Chuck and Janice sweetie. Now, I might start bawling."

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea," Sarah said as she grabbed Elise and put her arms around her. "Maybe if we cried on each other's shoulders for a while, it would change things between us."

"Maybe," Elise whispered.

Sarah just held her for a long moment. "Sweetie," she finally said. "I need a favor."

Elise didn't answer. She just nodded.

"It's not a small favor," Sarah said. "It's a big one. It's the kind of favor that you have no right to ask of a partner -- only a friend."

Elise didn't know what to say… so she just nodded again.

"We both know what might happen with you and Chuck," Sarah said. "The intersect is a powerful thing. I'm not blaming you -- you'll have no choice. But I suspect that you've been told to keep whatever happens a secret from me. It's okay. I understand orders. I'm not asking you to admit it. What I am asking you is to tell me the truth."

Elise just pulled back and looked at Sarah in surprise.

"I need to know," Sarah said. "And all lying to me is going to do is make me imagine the worst… for the rest of my life. So I need you to look me in the eye, and promise me… promise your friend, that when you tell me what happened, I'll be able to believe you."

Elise looked at Sarah for a long moment. There could be no doubt how serious she was. "I promise," she finally said.

Sarah, at long last, smiled. "Thank you, sweetie," she said. "That means a lot to me."

Elise smiled back. "You're welcome," she said. "Anything for a friend."

"One more favor," Sarah said as the smile turned into a grin. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't fall in love with him."

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Chuck and Sarah were in bed. Oh, it was only suppertime. But they were saying their goodbyes. And Sarah had perfected her manor of saying goodbye to him. Unfortunately, it was becoming all too common.

Actually, Elise was already waiting for him – not all that patiently. After all, they were supposed to be on the road twenty minutes ago. The plan, if you could even call it that, was pretty simple. Chuck and Elise were going to drive to Vegas, check into a hotel, act as tourists, and wander around the strip. Once they ran into Colson, or far more likely, one of his men, Elise would try and make contact with them. The hope was that would take a few days – time that Chuck would use to get familiar with the intersect. Once they gained Colson's trust, the first chance Elise got to put a bullet in his head, she was to take. Naturally, Casey and Janice objected. They wanted to be there in case more firepower was needed. But Beckman was firm. Surprise was going to be their chief asset.

"I'll call you tonight," Chuck said as soon as the latest lengthy kiss broke. It was okay to stay in contact until they had connected with Colson's team. After that, they would need to go silent. Then he lifted the sheet and stared at her naked form.

"What," Sarah asked as the blush began to run up her neck.

"Just checking out what Agent West was so impressed with," Chuck said with a smile. "I have to say, when the man's right, he's right."

"Stop," Sarah said as she playfully slapped his chest. "Don't worry about West. I think Janice has him in her sights. He'll never know what hit him."

"And you're just going to be the innocent bystander?" Chuck asked skeptically. "I find that a little hard to believe."

"Okay," Sarah laughed. "I might help… a little. He has it coming. I'll tell you all about it when you get back."

**Home Base – Living Room:**

Elise and Chuck had just finished getting the car packed. Chuck was holding Kate, saying his goodbyes. That was a lot harder then he anticipated. After all, he had been apart from Sarah before. But he had never been away from Kate. They had decided to take Sarah's Porsche. It was a much more believable car for two agents / tourists.

Elise knew how much Sarah loved this car. And with good reason, it was an incredible machine. Maybe it would be a good time to test this friendship thing. So she stepped up to where Chuck and Sarah were standing. "Would it be okay if I drive?" she asked. Technically, she was asking Chuck. But they both knew that the question was really directed towards Sarah.

Sarah didn't skip a beat. She took the keys that she was about to give to Chuck and handed them to Elise. "Good luck," she said as she hugged Elise. Her smile never dimmed as she whispered so that only Elise could hear. "I love you, sweetie – but scratch my car -- and I'll make you wish you had never been born."

**End of Chapter**


	17. New Couple

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Chuck and Elise become… friends. And Sarah and Joe West… don't._

_The site seems to be messing with my scene markers. It makes my previous chapters pretty much unreadable. I'm going to fix them eventually, but will take some time. So I'm going to try a little bit of a new format that hopefully the site won't mess with._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**New Couple**

**Somewhere on I-15 – Approaching the California / Nevada Border:**

Elise could tell that Chuck was a little down. And she was completely willing to cut him a little slack. After all, he had just said goodbye to his wife and baby. So she wasn't really expecting much conversation. Besides, Elise was having far too much fun with her new toy.

There were a lot of spy skills that Elise, by her own admission, wasn't exactly world class at. But driving was not one of them. It was the one thing at the academy that she truly enjoyed. And she excelled at it. So much so that they actually offered her a job as an instructor. Many times she wished that she had taken it. But that was history. Now she was behind the wheel of one of the highest performance vehicles known to man. She had an empty road, a mountainous terrain in front of her, and a CIA badge to get her out of any ticket. So the petal was truly to the metal. It was a two hundred-fifty mile drive to Las Vegas. That would normally take between three and four hours. But tonight, they were going to make it in just a little over half of that.

Chuck was trying hard not to be depressed. He really was. Well, at first he was just trying to hang on. He was used to Sarah driving aggressively. But Elise put Sarah to shame. So all Chuck could really do was tighten his seat belt… and hang on. Oh, every once in a while his hand would involuntarily go over his eyes – hiding then from death. But mostly he was just hanging on. After a while, once the traffic thinned out, he was finally able to tear his eyes off the road long enough to actually look at Elise. And what he saw stunned him.

Chuck always knew that Elise was an uncommonly beautiful woman. Let's face it -- you didn't become a CIA agent any other way. Truth be told, she was just as attractive as Sarah or Janice -- in a different way perhaps – but just as attractive. But there was always something about her– a perpetual sadness maybe. The first thing that you noticed about Sarah and Janice was how beautiful they were. That just wasn't true of Elise. The first thing that you noticed, even when she was smiling, was how serious she looked. But that was certainly long gone now. Her face was truly aglow. Her red hair was flowing behind her from the breeze. And there was a sparkle in her eye that Chuck had never seen before. She looked incredible. The radio was turned up to be heard over the noise of the wind. And Elise's singing could be heard, even over that. _She actually has a very nice voice_. So, in spite of himself, Chuck soon found himself smiling.

"You do realize," Chuck said, shouting at the top of his lungs to be heard. "How much Sarah loves this car. If anything happens…"

Elise just grinned. "Don't worry," she shouted back. "We're not likely to survive this mission anyway."

Chuck met her grin. "Now that's a real glass is half full…" he replied, still shouting to be heard. "Hey, wait a minute."

**Home Base – The Safe Room**

Janice poked her head inside the room cautiously. "You wanted to see us ma'am?" she asked.

"Janice, John," Beckman said. "Please come in."

Clearly the General was letting them know that this was a personal visit. So Janice relaxed. "Okay, mom," she said. "Something tells me that you want to talk about the wedding."

"I do," Beckman replied. "Have you set a date?"

"Not yet," Janice said. "We really haven't discussed it."

"We'll need to set a date soon," Beckman said. "The president's schedule fills up fast. There are only a very few days this spring where he would be available as it is."

"The president?" Casey asked in confusion. "Of the country?"

Beckman laughed. "Of course," she said.

Janice looked at Casey. He looked as stunned as she felt. "Umm," she said. "I'm not sure we were planning on a big wedding."

"I know," Beckman said. "But the wedding is planned by the bride's family, right? Who is the bride's family? That's pretty much me."

"But, ma'am… I mean… umm, Diane," Casey stuttered. "You really don't need to go to all of that trouble."

"Nonsense," Beckman replied. "Why don't you let me decide how much trouble I'm willing to go to for my only daughter?"

Janice was speechless… simply speechless. "I don't know what to say," she finally said.

Beckman smiled at their discomfort. "I understand," she said. "This is a lot to hit you with. But this isn't only for me, Janice – it's a promise that I made to your father. You were his pride and joy. He always dreamed of your wedding day… of the day when he would get to show off his beautiful daughter to the world. He talked about it all the time. And while I'm not sure he pictured John as the groom, he would have wanted this."

Janice suddenly bristled. "What's wrong with Casey?" she demanded.

But Beckman just smiled. "Nothing's wrong with him, Janice," she said. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that he's not the pretty boy type that you were always bringing home. But if your dad would have thought about it for a minute, he wouldn't be that surprised that you would end up with a man who was just like him."

Janice thought about it for a long moment. But then a smile came to her face. "Oh my God, you're right," she finally said. "It's a stereotype that girls look for a man that's like their dad. But that's exactly what happened."

"But, ma'am, I mean… Diane…" Casey said. He was clearly getting frustrated. "Can I just call you ma'am? I'm a career military man. And it's very hard for me to address a Three Star General, in uniform, by her first name."

"If that would make you more comfortable," Beckman said.

"Thank you," Casey said. "But wouldn't the type of wedding that you're talking about, especially if the president were to attend, attract a lot of publicity?"

"Are you kidding?" Beckman said with a grin. "Look at her, John. She is gorgeous. The Beltway press would eat this up. Beautiful young hero meets and marries another handsome national military hero. It would get picked up nationally for sure. Janice's picture would be on the cover of every magazine one can think of."

Janice was clearly embarrassed. "But mom," she said. "Even if that was true, I'm a covert CIA operative. How could I possibly be effective after that much publicity?"

"You couldn't," Beckman said. "That's the other thing that I want to talk to you about. Chuck and Sarah are retiring after this mission. Maybe it's time to think about what you want to do after this assignment is over."

"Wow," Janice said. "I don't know. We've dedicated our lives…"

"Of course you have," Beckman interrupted. "And no one is suggesting that you stop. But Janice, there are lots of jobs… important jobs… in the agency that are not covert. You've spent your time in the field. You've served your country in that capacity. Maybe it's time that you let someone else take over and collect your reward."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wynn Hotel and Casino:**

One thing about the CIA. They didn't pinch pennies when it came to providing a cover. The suite that they were now in was amazing. Casey would have had a cow. He hated to waste the taxpayer's money. Especially since it was actually bigger than his whole apartment. And since they were on the forty-third story, the floor to ceiling windows gave an absolutely breathtaking view of the strip. There was even a Jacuzzi in the middle of the living area.

But naturally, Chuck's attention was drawn to the huge flat screen TV and entertainment center that covered on whole wall. "Oh my God," he whispered. "This is a palace."

Elise was pretty much used to this luxurious style. After all, she had spent a career accompanying rich, powerful men. So she couldn't help but grin at Chuck's excitement. But first things first. There was almost no chance that the room was bugged. But you could never be too careful. So she put her finger to her lips to tell Chuck to be quiet while she swept the room.

While she was doing that, Chuck got busy setting up their computer. Naturally, it was equipped with all the normal secure video conferencing capabilities.

After a very few minutes, Elise pronounced the room bug free. "What do you want to do first?" she asked. "We're supposed to be making the rounds. Do you want to hit the casino right away? Or do you want to unwind for a few minutes? The casino won't really start hopping for a couple of hours. Maybe we could take a nap."

Chuck knew that it was too early to call Sarah. She wasn't expecting them to get here so quickly. And she needed to get Kate down for bed before she would be able to talk for long. "A nap doesn't sound that bad," he said.

**Las Vegas, Nevada. MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Adam Colson was not a happy camper. He was absolutely sure that Bryce Larkin was telling him the truth. After all, no one could withstand that much pain. But his story about a secret base under some yogurt shop in Burbank turned out to be a load of crap. Okay, sure, they found the yogurt shop. He even 'talked' to one of the workers. Amy quickly became cooperative. One thing was for sure – she wasn't a pro. She was crying before she even saw the razor. There was no way that she wouldn't have talked. But there was no hint of any secret base. So now, here he was -- no closer to Walker – and another body to dispose of.

There was one thing that his new team had quickly learned – not to be around when he was in one of those moods. Again, here he was – all pissed off, all alone, and no one to even take it out on. All of the effort to track down Bryce Larkin – and not one damn thing to show for it. Oh… except for one tiny lead. Why was the head of the NSA's personal plane cleared to land at LAX just eight hours after they would have found Larkin's body? That would be an interesting question. Now to find out the answer.

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wynn Hotel and Casino:**

Chuck had to admit – the nap felt good. Elise was clearly already awake. It fact, she was in the Jacuzzi looking at the lights of the strip. A glass of champagne sat on the ledge next to her. This would be a good time to talk to Sarah. She was clearly expecting the call – because she was already in the communication's room waiting. "Hi," he said. "We made it."

Sarah smiled brightly. She was clearly very happy to see him. "I see that you're roughing it. Have you begun your assignment yet?"

"Not yet," Chuck said with a laugh as he moved out of the way to give Sarah a better view of the room. "We're going to go down in a few minutes."

Sarah laughed. "I see that Elise is already in the Jacuzzi," she said. "Tell her I'm jealous. That's where I'd be."

Little did Sarah know how prophetic her words were.

Elise stood up and waived. "Hi, Sarah," she called with a laugh. "Don't worry. No scratches yet. And the car's okay too."

Even though Chuck's back was towards Elise, he could see the look that came over Sarah's face. And for a horrible moment the thought flashed into his mind. _Oh no, Elise is naked_. Fortunately she wasn't naked… but unfortunately, she might as well have been. Her underwear became virtually transparent when it was wet. Chuck wasn't sure if Elise saw the look on Sarah's face – or just realized how exposed she was – because she quickly sat back down.

But Sarah clearly became very quiet. So Chuck tried to change the subject. "How is Kate?" he asked.

But Sarah, just as clearly, wasn't buying it. "Fine," she replied. "Well, you'd better get on with your assignment."

"Sarah…" Chuck began weakly.

"Chuck," Sarah interrupted with a sigh. "You're on a mission. I understand what that means. Please hurry up and finish it and come back home."

"I'll talk to you again tomorrow," Chuck said as softly as he could and still be heard. "I love you."

"Me too," Sarah said. And then quickly the screen went blank.

When Chuck turned around, she was already wrapping herself in a towel. Elise was very fair skinned – so when she blushed, it was plain. And right now she looked pretty much like a fire hydrant. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I honestly didn't realize that this bra would disappear like this. I didn't want to wake you by rummaging in my bags for my suit."

"It's not your fault," Chuck said sadly. "Sarah knows the drill."

"I know," Elise said. "But we shouldn't rub her face in it."

**Home Base – Communications Room:**

"Trouble in paradise?" asked a voice from behind Sarah. When she turned she saw Joe West standing there.

"I thought that you were taking General Beckman to the airport," Sarah said.

"Already complete," West replied with a smile. "She's in the air. Where are the rest of the team?"

Casey took Ellie and Devon back home," Sarah said. "He is going to stay with them for a few nights and drive them to work – just to be safe. Janice is going to stay here. She just went to pack some clothes."

"So," West said. "We're alone? That's interesting. Maybe we should find something to do?"

Sarah ignored the suggestive nature of his statement. "Only for a few minutes," she said. "Of course Kate is here. And Janice will be right back. Why?"

"No reason," West replied casually. "She's very pretty."

"Janice?" Sarah asked. "Yes, she's very pretty. You do realize that Casey and Janice are engaged?"

"I was talking about Elise," West said. "Most men would say that wearing something transparent is even sexier than being naked. Don't you agree?"

"Well," Sarah said. "You're in luck. Elise is single."

West just smiled and shook his head. "Not my type," he said. "I like my women a little… more endowed." There could now be no question that his stare was directed at her chest.

Sarah didn't answer. She just went to leave the room. But West was blocking the path. Sarah waited to see if he would move.

"She must have known," West continued. "After all, she stood up to give you a better view. She had to know what you'd see. What do you think she was trying to tell you?"

"I don't know," Sarah said. "But I'm sure you're going to tell me what you think."

"I think it's pretty clear," West said with a grin. "She was telling you that she has him… all the way in Vegas… and there's not a damn thing that you can do about it."

"They are on a mission," Sarah said.

"Of course," West replied with his boyish smile. "So am I. Don't worry. You're much prettier. I bet you have some stuff that would disappear when it gets wet too."

West was concentrating too hard at trying to develop x-ray vision to notice Janice walk up. "You're right on both counts," Janice said with a grin. "She is much prettier. And she does have some stuff that would totally disappear. Don't you sweetie?"

Sarah already knew that Janice was playing – but the sweetie confirmed it. So she forced a shy blush on her face and looked at the floor. "I guess," she said softly.

Janice just nodded knowingly. "How about that French cut pushup number?" she said. "You can practically see through that before it even gets wet. It's really incredible. I bet that Joe would like to see it. Wouldn't you Joe?"

"Of course," Joe said.

Sarah folder her arms over her chest shyly. "I don't know," she said. "I always feel so naughty even thinking about it. I haven't had it out of the drawer in a long time. Chuck hates it. He says it makes me look cheap."

Janice smiled at Joe. "Chuck is in Vegas," she said. "He would never know, right Joe?"

Joe now wasn't sure if he was being played or not. But he was also dying to find out. And there was only one way… "Of course not," he said.

"Okay," Sarah finally said. "Let's go before I chicken out."

**End of Chapter**


	18. The Strip

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Chuck and Elise become better friends. As do Sarah and Elise._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Strip**

**Home Base – Dining Room:**

Janice practically dragged Joe to the dining room table and pushed him into a seat. She sat next to him while Sarah walked into her bedroom.

"Do you think that you want to see it wet right away," Sarah called through the door.

Joe looked to Janice – who nodded approvingly. "It's completely invisible when it's wet," she whispered.

Joe still wasn't completely sure that he wasn't being played. But what the hell... "Umm, sure," he said.

"How about this," Janice called. "Come out with it dry and we'll let Joe wet it down. You'd like that, wouldn't you, Joe?"

"Come on guys," Sarah groaned. "We're not going to make a mess of my dining room, are we?"

"It'll be okay," Janice said as she went to the sink and filled a bowl. "It's only water. We'll wipe it up."

"Okay," Sarah said cautiously as she came out of the bedroom. Indeed, she was carrying a lacy bra. She tossed it on the table in front of Joe.

"See," Janice said excitedly. "You can see right through it. Now, put it in the water."

Well, at least Joe now knew the answer to his question. He just looked disgustedly at them.

"Come on," Janice insisted as she grabbed the bra and put it in the water. "Don't be shy. See how it is invisible?"

"Cute," Joe grumbled. Then he stood up and walked away.

Sarah and Janice waited until he had left the area before they started laughing.

"How long do you think that will hold him?" Janice asked as soon as she could get the words out.

"Not long, I'm afraid," Sarah answered. "Somehow I don't picture him as discouraging easily."

"Probably not," Janice said. "But don't worry. I've got a hundred of um."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Strip:**

Chuck and Elise were walking down the hallway from the elevators into the casino. Elise could tell that Chuck was still a little shaken. And she knew that it was all her fault. But they still had a mission. "I'm really sorry," she said. "But you do realize that we have to be a couple tonight? We never know when we'll run into them and they have to buy us as an intimate couple."

"I know," Chuck said. "I'll be okay. I promise. I'm just down that Sarah is hurting."

"Don't worry," Elise said. "I'm going to make this as easy on you as I can."

"How?" Chuck asked.

"If you're not going to do your part," Elise said with a grin. "I'll have to do all of the work. I'm going to be all over you. First I need you to find me a ladies room. And then it starts."

**Home Base- Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Sarah was lying on her bed, just thinking about things. Teasing Joe West had been fun – for about a minute. But Chuck was still with – well, not with her. Then her cell phone rang. She wasn't expecting any calls. Especially not from…

"Hello, Elise," Sarah said quickly. "Is something wrong? Where's Chuck?"

"I'm afraid so," Elise said. "Don't worry. Chuck is fine. I'm in the lady's room and Chuck is waiting for me. But I just want to let you know that I feel terrible about earlier. I seriously didn't realize that my bra would disappear like that. I probably should have. I just didn't think."

"Did Chuck put you up to this," Sarah asked as a smile started to form.

"He doesn't know that I'm calling," Elise said. "I just wanted to let you know that he feels terrible. And it's all my fault. I'm very sorry. If you're going to be mad at someone, it should be me. I'm the one who messed up. But you asked me to be honest. This is me being honest."

"I'm not mad at anybody, sweetie," Sarah said. "I just miss him. And I'll admit, seeing you standing there pretty much naked got to me more than it should have. Why don't you tell Chuck that we talked? Have him go back up to the room and call me. I'll fix this. Don't worry – I'll only keep him for a couple of minutes."

"Are you sure?" Elise asked.

"I'm sure," Sarah said with a laugh. "We can't have him on a mission all depressed can we?"

"I guess not," Elise said.

"And, sweetie," Sarah said. "Thanks. That was being a friend. I really appreciate it."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Strip:**

Chuck had to admit – he was having fun. Naturally, the talk with Sarah helped. It wouldn't have been easy to try and pretend that he was having a good time while knowing that Sarah was back home hurting. Of course, now the opposite was true – he wanted to drive home and jump on her. But that just wasn't possible.

Elise decided that tonight's mission was going to be a little different. They weren't going to worry so much about Colson. Instead, they were going to spend the night just getting used to acting as a couple. After all, if Colson didn't believe them as a couple, the entire plan went out the window.

There was no question about it, Elise was stunning. The red party dress that she was wearing was simply gorgeous. The thin spaghetti straps allowed for just enough cleavage to make you want a little more. And the slit showed off her amazing legs – but was actually tastefully modest. It became quickly plain that Elise was experimenting with different styles of PDA. At first, she was pretty formal. Her arm was wrapped through his – much like a couple going to their first prom. After a while, she switched to a more intimate style of resting her hand on his chest whenever they stopped walking and leaning in to kiss him. After a few minutes of that, she switched to an even more intimate style. She would rest her head on Chuck's shoulder and nuzzle his neck. But she clearly was still not comfortable.

Finally she leaned in. "We need to go back to the room," she said.

"Why?" Chuck asked. "We've only been down here for twenty minutes."

"This isn't working," Elise said. "We're way over dressed. We need to go up and put on our jeans. Then we'll come back and hold hands like teenagers. That's more us."

Chuck smiled at her. "Okay," he said. "Whatever you think. You're the professional."

"Exactly," Elise said. "That's what we look like. A guy who just hit the lottery – and his first pro."

**Home Base – Living Room:**

Janice had to admit. She was going a little stir crazy. And that stunned her. After all, she was used to living alone. She had for years. So why did she miss Casey so much? It was actually more than a little disconcerting. But she knew that lying in that bed by herself wasn't going to work. So she wandered out to see if there was something interesting in the fridge. To her surprise, she saw Sarah sitting on the sofa.

"Hey," Janice said as she walked up. "I'm surprised to see you up. You can't sleep either?"

"I'm just giving Kate her last nighttime bottle," Sarah said. "Come and sit down."

Janice noticed that Sarah was indeed holding Kate. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'll leave you two alone."

Sarah smiled at Janice's discomfort. "Come on, sweetie," she said. "Sit down. She won't bite. And even if she does, she doesn't have any teeth yet."

But Janice was looking for a way to retreat. "That's okay," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Sit."

Anybody who knew Sarah at all was very familiar with that particular tone – and what it meant. You disobeyed at your great peril. So she sat in the chair opposite from them.

"No way," Sarah said as she patted the sofa next to her. "Come and sit next to me."

Again with the tone. So with an audible groan, she moved over and sat on the sofa. "Happy?"

Sarah's smile turned sinister. "Not yet," she said. "You've never held Kate. Why not?"

"Sarah," Janice said quickly. "I can't hold a baby. Do you want me to break her?"

"You're going to feed her," Sarah said.

"I can't feed her," Janice said, genuinely panicked. "I'm not equipped to do that."

"Don't worry," Sarah said with a grin. "I'm not breast feeding. This is formula. Anybody is equipped."

"Very funny, smart ass," Janice said. "I meant I'm not emotionally equipped."

"Well," Sarah said softly. "You need to get emotionally equipped. Kate needs to know her Aunt Janice. And there's no time like the present."

So she took the bottle out of Kate's mouth and lifted her into Janice's lap. "Just let her head rest in the crook of your elbow," she said. "That's right, sweetie. Now just hold the bottle for her with your other hand."

Janice was clearly freaked. "I don't know what to do," she said.

"Sweetie," Sarah said. "Will you relax? You're doing it. This is all there is to it."

Finally, Janice had to admit – it wasn't all that terrifying. So she actually began to relax. _This isn't so hard after all_.

Sarah lifted Kate's hand. "Look at her fingernails," she said with a soft smile. "Aren't they perfect?"

"It's incredible," Janice whispered. "She is going to look just like you."

"I can really see Chuck," Sarah said. "When she smiles." Then she took off one of Kate's socks.

Janice gasped. "You painted her toenails," she said. "That is beyond adorable."

"I know," Sarah laughed. "I couldn't resist."

"The boys are going to be all over her," Janice said with a grin. "You know that, right?"

"I know," Sarah sighed. "At least we'll have a few years before we have to worry about that. I think Chuck's plan is to lock her in the safe room once she's sixteen."

Janice's eyes sparkled. "Remember," she said. "The time in Baltimore when we teased those rookies by painting each other's toenails?"

Sarah couldn't keep the grin off her face. She wrapped her arms around Janice and buried her face into Janice's neck. Since Janice had both hands full, she really had no choice but to let Sarah hug her. But it was better that way. It felt great.

"I do remember," Sarah finally said. "It was quite a night. I can't believe the things that I've let you talk me into."

"Maybe that's something that Agent West would enjoy seeing," Janice said thoughtfully.

"Maybe," Sarah said with a soft giggle. "That would be going nuclear, don't you think?"

"We'll see," Janice said. "I really don't like him."

"Yeah," Sarah said with a laugh. "That's pretty clear. By the way, that Baltimore story is another one that Kate will never hear – understood?"

Janice's grin couldn't have been any bigger. "I thought that you wanted Kate to know her Aunt Janice," she mocked.

Sarah just stared at her in mock anger. "Janice," she started warningly.

"Fine," Janice said with a sigh. "Understood. But you're taking away all of the fun."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Strip:**

Elise was absolutely right. The casual look worked much better. Elise was – well she was incredible. In her party dress, she was the epitome of a sophisticated beautiful upper society woman. But in her jeans and t-shirt, she was – well – more cute. But that's not to say that she was less attractive – no way. Now they looked more like a Midwestern couple on their fifth anniversary trip. And Elise was giving off a girl-next-door vibe.

The style of dress allowed them to act much more casually. Whenever they walked anyplace, they grabbed each other's hands and swung their arms like teenagers on their first date. And if Elise's grin was fake, then she was an amazing actress.

They had been instructed to play Blackjack. It was thought that Colson would be found there. For one thing, it was the one game where the intersect was a decided advantage. After all, knowing every card that had been played and having a computer in your head that calculated the odds of every bet turned the house advantage around decidedly. They knew that Colson would likely be at the high roller's tables. At least that's where surveillance had most often found him. So tonight, they stuck to the lower stakes tables. They quickly found a couple of seats at a twenty-five dollar table and begin to play. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. With the intersect making all the calls, Chuck was quickly up a couple of thousand. Even without the benefit of an intersect, Elise wasn't doing all that bad. She had obviously played before.

Finally, Elise grabbed Chuck's hand. "Let's take a break, sweetie," she said.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the table, Chuck turned to her. "Why did we leave? I was on a roll."

Elise turned her grin towards him. "We proved our point," she said. "We know that the intersect can make you a winner. But it's boring. Tonight is about us as a couple. So let's have some fun giving this money back."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Strip:**

There was one thing that Chuck quickly learned. Elise could really hold her liquor. It was amazing for someone so petite. He knew that if he had half as much to drink as she had, someone would be carrying him up to his room. He had the good sense to stick with beer. And even then, he was more than a little buzzed. But Elise seemed to have no impact whatsoever. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She was much more animated. She was clearly having a blast listening to his stories about Jeff and Lester.

Elise was laughing so hard that she had to swing her arm around Chuck's neck to keep from falling. "Eww," she finally was able to choke out. "He ate it?"

"He ate it," Chuck said with his own laugh. "Jeff will eat anything. It's his main talent."

"When do I get to meet this guy," Elise asked.

"Hopefully never," Chuck said. "We might risk Morgan someday. But I'm afraid that you'll judge me if you know that I'm friends with Jeff."

Finally, Elise looked at him with a smile. "I would never judge you," she said.

"That's funny," Chuck said. "Sarah can't stand him. She says that all he does is stare at her chest."

"Sounds like Agent West," Elise giggled. "I wonder what he would eat."

"Agent West seems to be an oysters on the half shell kind of guy to me," Chuck said.

That sent Elise into another giggling fit. "Maybe," she said. "Something tells me that Agent West doesn't need raw oysters to get in the mood. Although I really don't see Sarah being too receptive."

"You think?" Chuck asked. "From what I hear, he's sort of her type."

Elise just laughed. "No way," she said. "If I tell you something, can it be between us?"

"It depends," Chuck said. "I'll never lie to her. But I also wouldn't tell her anything personal that you didn't want me too."

"Sarah's afraid that I'm going to fall in love with you," Elise said. "Isn't that a scream?"

Chuck played mock horror. "You mean that you're not?" he asked sarcastically.

Elise slapped his chest. "I didn't mean it like that," she said. "But there is no way. You're so not my type."

Now Chuck was curious. "So," he said. "Why am I not your type? What is your type?"

"You're way too nice," Elise said. "My type is clearly a jerk. That's all I ever end up with."

"That's not your type," Chuck protested. "It's just the only type of man that you're ever around."

But suddenly Elise became serious. "Maybe," she said. "It's late. Let's go upstairs. I guess it's time to see how real those side effects are."

Suddenly Chuck understood why Elise had been drinking so much. She was preparing herself – for tonight.

**End of Chapter**


	19. Sweet Dreams

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Chuck and Elise become better friends. As for Joe West… well, Janice sets her sights on him… in a way that only Janice can do._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Sweet Dreams**

**Home Base – Living Room:**

Sarah was sitting on the sofa waiting for Kate to cry again. One thing was for sure, Kate was having a tough night. She had already been up three different times. And that was very unusual for her. Once Kate had started sleeping through the night, she was actually a very sound sleeper. Sarah knew that there couldn't be anything physically wrong – because as soon as she picked her up she immediately settled down and went right back to sleep. _She can't be missing Chuck already? He's only been gone for a few hours_. It was more likely that she sensed the tension in the house. After all, babies were more perceptive than people gave them credit for – and there certainly had been a lot of tension in the house lately. Maybe she was missing Aunt Ellie. But then again, she hadn't been gone that long either. Sarah thought about just letting her cry for a while – but who was she kidding? There was no way she could lie there and listen to Kate cry.

So, really, she was doing the only thing that she could -- sit on the sofa so that she could be sure to hear Kate. And not having anything else to do, she decided to enjoy one of her favorite things. It really wasn't that often that Sarah allowed herself to daydream. Her life was pretty busy. But, as she allowed herself to drift off, it was totally predictable what – and more specifically who – her daydream was about…

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wynn Hotel and Casino:**

Chuck and Elise were getting ready for bed. Well, actually Elise was doing most of the getting ready. Chuck had been ready for some time. After all, throwing on some sweat pants and a t-shirt didn't take all that long. Elise was sitting at the vanity brushing her hair. She had been very quiet ever since they decided to come upstairs. It was a noticeable change to the bubbly, almost giddy mood that they had shared for most of the night. She was obviously bothered by what she thought was going to happen. And she was clearly taking her time getting ready.

Chuck tried to calm her. "You're worried about nothing," he said. "I really don't feel any side effects. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be able to stay on my side of the bed. I don't feel any attraction at all."

Elise was facing the mirror. But Chuck could see her sly smile in the reflection. "Are you trying to hurt my feelings?" she asked mockingly. "If you were trying to make me feel better – you failed miserably."

Now it was Chuck's turn to get red. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that." But then he struggled for what to say. He didn't want to tell her that she wasn't attractive -- because she most definitely was. But going to far would also send the wrong message. So he settled for humor. "You're just so not my type."

Elise's smile was definitely back. The twinkle in her eye said that she was enjoying Chuck's discomfort. "How am I not your type?" she asked. "You don't like redheads?"

"It's not that," Chuck said. "I love redheads. It's more the beautiful, smart, and funny thing. I try and stay away from that type. And I'm already in a relationship with someone like that. I'm already way over my quota. Sorry."

Elise finally turned to face Chuck. The smile had faded – but not by that much. "Sarah's really worried about you," she said.

"I know," Chuck said. "She shouldn't be. I'm sort of a one-woman kind of guy."

"She hasn't met many one-woman kind of guys before," Elise said. "Neither have I. So hopefully you can forgive the worry. It's not a lack of faith – it's just that the typical guy we know would be all over me right now – especially if they had a ready made excuse."

"Let's see," Chuck said mockingly. "The devil made me do it."

"Exactly," Elise laughed. "Trust me. I've heard tons of excuses that are a lot lamer than 'The Intersect made me jump on her.' Most guys would be telling me that it was important for the cover. That somehow, if we didn't have sex tonight, it would come across the next day."

"I'll bet," Chuck laughed.

Then she came over and sat down on the bed next to Chuck. "Did I ever tell you that Sarah taught a class that I was in once?"

"I think you might have mentioned it," Chuck said. "What was the class?"

"How to kick a guy in the groin," Elise said with a giggle.

Chuck's eyes widened. "They have a class about that?" he asked.

"It wasn't technically a class," Elise said. "It was more like a seminar. And that wasn't really the title – it was something about neutralizing a male adversary. But that was the general idea. You wouldn't believe the classes that they make you go through at the academy. Trust me, they teach you more than just how to seduce someone."

"Why Sarah?" Chuck asked.

"Apparently, she's an expert," Elise said. "She certainly taught me a lot of things that I didn't know."

Now Chuck was interested. "Like what?" he asked.

Elise laughed again. Her eyes were clearly sparkling. "The first rule," she said. "Is to never try it unless you know for sure that you can disable him. There is about a quarter inch difference between having your adversary lying on the ground helpless and having him totally uninjured – but very pissed off. I would never try it in a fight – except maybe out of desperation."

Chuck joined Elise's laugh. "I see," he said. "Is there a specific technique that Sarah taught you?"

"Oh absolutely," Elise said. "The first step is to get your shoe off."

"Really," Chuck said. "I would have thought that you would want your shoe on. A harder surface…"

"Common misconception," Elise interrupted. "Actually, your big toe is the key. You want the force delivered from as little surface area as possible. A shoe just spreads out the force over a larger area. I thought you were a Physics major? What is Stanford anyway – a party school?"

"Hey," Chuck laughed. "For one thing, I was a Computer Science major. Physics was only my minor. And that is the kind of practical application that was never covered in any of our lab exercises."

"The next important thing is to have the right amount of distance between you and your target," Elise said with a grin. "You can't be too close. You want to be able to swing your hip, knee, and ankle…"

"Triple the torque," Chuck interrupted. "Means triple the force. What do you have to say about Stanford now?"

"Very good," Elise said. "The proper technique is to swing your hip first and then your knee. You finish with a snap of your ankle. You want the blow to come from as horizontal an angle as possible."

"Wow," Chuck said as he visible shuttered. "It sounds devastating. Sarah must be a good teacher. It sounds like you have it perfected."

"Not really," Elise said. "Oh, Sarah is a good instructor. But this is typical of my spy career. Knowing what to do and being able to do it are two different things. Actually she screamed at me pretty good."

Chuck smiled. "Sarah screamed at you?" he asked.

"Umm… yeah," Elise said. "It sort of crushed me. She was my hero. I wanted to impress her so badly. But she actually screamed at a lot of people. I don't know if you've noticed this before -- but she can be fairly intense."

Chuck put his arm around Elise and pulled her close. "You know what?" he said. "I think I maybe have noticed that. But you can stop worrying. Sarah is crazy about you. And so am I. So, I'll tell you what – I'll stay on my side of the bed tonight – and you can find some other way to impress her."

Elise smiled as she rested her head on Chuck's shoulder. She felt great. And the funny thing was she didn't even know exactly why. With any other man, this would be the beginning of his move. Right about now his lips would be on hers and his hand would be finding its way to her chest – and in a very few seconds, she would be naked. But not with Chuck. It wasn't a sexual moment at all. That's not why she felt so great. Oh, it would be nice to be able to tell her good friend that nothing happened. She would be dying to hear that. Then again, it might have been the glow from the knowledge that she had just spent the most honest, natural, fun evening of her entire life. She might have to rethink this nice guy thing. Or maybe it was the look she could see in Chuck's eyes that said that he was honestly having a great time too. She had never connected at this level with anybody before. And Elise had to admit – it would be nice to kiss him – very nice. But that would just mess everything up. So she wrapped her free arm around Chuck's back and squeezed him. "You've got a deal," she said softly.

**Home Base – Living Room:**

_Sarah was surprised to see Chuck walk in the living room. "Sweetie," she said. "Why are you here? You're on a mission."_

_But then, there it was -- the smile that could melt her heart. "I missed you," he said. It's only a three hour drive. It was totally worth that for one last kiss."_

_"Wow," Sarah said with a grin. "You really know what to say to a girl. You paid the price. You deserve your reward. Come and kiss me."_

_But wouldn't you know it – just when their lips met, Sarah could hear Kate crying. So she sighed. What lousy timing. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "I'll be right back."_

When Sarah opened her eyes, she was still sitting on the sofa. And Joe West was just getting ready to kiss her – obviously again. "What the hell?" she shouted as she pushed him out of the way and jumped to her feet.

Joe was not daunted. On the contrary, he was sporting a confident grin. "I knew it," he said. "You weren't fooling me. I'm not sure what price you think I paid. But I'm ready for my reward."

Sarah didn't answer – not with words anyway. She just reached back and took a fierce swing – aiming at his jaw. "You son of a bitch," she yelled. "How dare you."

Joe was luckily able to duck the wild punch. "What?" he said sheepishly. "You asked me to kiss you. Feeling guilty? We both know that you liked it."

"You arrogant bastard," Sarah screamed. "I would never ask you to kiss me."

Joe just leered at her. "Is that why your high beams are getting ready to punch through that nightie?" he mocked.

Sarah's face immediately turned red. She should have remembered to put on her robe knowing that there was a man in the house. That was a major mistake. What she was wearing simply didn't leave much to the imagination. But Kate was now screaming. So she did the only thing she could. Her instincts told her to cover her chest with one arm but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction to see her flustered. So she just pushed him out of the way with the other arm. "This isn't over," she said as she stomped past him. "I have to go take care of my daughter."

By this time, Janice was awakened by the commotion and was standing in the living room with her gun in her hand. "What's going on?" she asked while she was also scanning the room for possible threats.

There was a fire in Sarah's eyes that made even Janice take a step backward. As she stomped past Janice on her way to Kate's room, she paused for a brief moment. "War's been declared," she growled.

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

General Beckman was obviously having trouble waking up. "Agent Walker… umm… I mean, Agent Bartow… Sarah," she stumbled, clearly frustrated. "Do you realize what time it is?"

Sarah was holding Kate on her shoulder, trying to gently rub her back and get her back to sleep. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Let me get this straight," Beckman said. "You woke me up at five in the morning – after I have been traveling all night – to cry that someone might have tried to kiss you?"

Sarah didn't answer.

"Really, Sarah?" Beckman asked. "The famous man eater, Sarah Walker? The bane of single men for half a decade all across the beltway – and now she can't handle a single man who makes a pass at her? Is that what you're saying?"

Sarah knew that Beckman really wasn't expecting an answer. So she kept silent.

"Let me be perfectly understood," Beckman continued. "I'm not condoning any sort of sexual harassment. And I'm perfectly willing to let Agent West know that any further inappropriate actions on his part will make it into his file. But let's face facts, Sarah. He wouldn't care. He would consider being charged with harassment by Sarah Walker as a badge of honor. He would add it to his resume – in bold print. And he claims that you invited him."

"I was dreaming, ma'am," Sarah growled through clenched teeth. "I was sleeping and thought he was my husband… who should be here. Instead he's off on another damn mission, saving the damn world."

Beckman's voice softened noticeably. "Talk to me, Sarah," she said. "This can't be about some stud getting the wrong impression and kissing you. I mean, how many times has that happened? What is really the issue here?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "I'm worried about Chuck, ma'am," she finally said. "His sensitivity to me with other men has always been an issue. He expressed concerns about Agent West before he left. And the last thing that he needs to hear is this jerk bragging that I invited him to kiss me. I refuse to put him through that – especially given the strain that he is already under."

"Okay, Sarah," Beckman said. "Are you sure there isn't something else?"

"Something else, ma'am?"

"Yes," Beckman said. "Are you sure that you're not worried that Chuck hearing about this incident might trigger – some side effects?"

Sarah's face turned red but she didn't directly answer.

"Agent Beckman," Beckman sighed.

"Ma'am," Janice said.

"Are you threatened by Agent West in any way?" Beckman asked.

"No ma'am," Janice said. "The bastard hasn't given me a second look."

"Do you think that you could assist Agent… umm… Sarah?" Beckman asked. "Would that be acceptable, Sarah? Maybe we could all get some sleep."

Both Sarah and Janice answered at the same time. "Yes, ma'am."

Beckman ended the conference without any further comment.

As soon as the screen went blank, Janice turned to Sarah. "Don't worry about Chuck," she said softly. "I know that this thing in his head is bad news – but I have a feeling that he might surprise you."

Sarah smiled back. "I know," she said. "I actually have a feeling that you might be right."

Janice's smile turned into a grin. "So," she said. "Let's have some fun with this jerk. It will be like old times. Like you said – war's been declared. We will take no prisoners."

"Okay," Sarah said with her own grin. "Just understand something… it can't be exactly like old times."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wynn Hotel and Casino:**

Elise was just ready to fall asleep. She thought that Chuck was already asleep. After all, his breathing had been steady for the past few minutes. So she was very surprised when he softly slid next to her and snuggled up. And, topping that, she was stunned when he began kissing her neck.

Elise knew right away where this was headed -- and that she had an important decision to make. She could try and talk him out of it. He might be receptive to some guilt over Sarah. But she knew that she couldn't resist him. That had been made very clear. So should she just lie there – or should she participate? But the real problem was clear – she didn't know which she even wanted. Well, that wasn't exactly true – she did know. His breath on her neck was starting to feel intoxicating. So as he slowly moved his way up to her mouth, she found herself meeting him half way.

The kiss was – wow – it was everything that Elise imagined it would be. How could anything be so forceful and yet at the same time be so gentle? She now knew that her decision was made. She had to admit – she wanted this as much as he did. As their tongues danced, she could feel his hand slide inside her nightgown, stopping as he cupped her right breast. She quickly returned the favor as she ran her hand inside of his t-shirt and over his smooth stomach. Chuck reached for the hem of her gown and lifted it. Elise reluctantly had to take her hand out of his shirt to be able to slowly lift her arms to allow him to take it off. As soon as it hit the floor, Chuck began kissing his way down her neck. He paused for a moment to pay attention to each of her breasts before continuing south.

Elise was completely on fire. Chuck must be a mind reader. He knew exactly what she wanted. He had now reached her stomach, moving south at a maddeningly slow pace. Finally, he grabbed the waistband of her panties and pulled then down as he went. Elise lifted her hips slightly to allow him to remove them – and then she just let Chuck take over. She just wanted him to move faster. But finally she gasped as Chuck got to the spot. She gently put her hands in his hair and guided him. "Chuck," she moaned. "Oh Chuck."

The next thing that Elise knew, Chuck was shaking her awake. They both were fully clothed. Chuck was still on his side of the bed, actually as far away as he could get and still reach her. "Is something wrong" he asked. "You were moaning."

Elise was very embarrassed. Thankfully, it was dark – so he couldn't see her blushing. She paused for a moment to control her breathing. "Sorry," she finally said. "Bad dream."

"Okay," Chuck whispered as he grabbed her arm in a comforting gesture. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Chuck," Elise whispered. She knew that he must be able to hear her heart beating. It was about ready to pound out of her chest. But he had already rolled back over and was close to being asleep.

Elise tried to tell herself – it was just a stupid dream. It didn't mean anything. And if she would just keep telling herself that, maybe it would become true.

But the simple truth was -- things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

**End of Chapter**


	20. The Test

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Several people get tested. The folks in Washington can't figure out why Chuck isn't having any side effects. Janice can't figure out how Joe West could possibly be so clueless. And Elise can't figure out what she really wants to do with her life._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Test**

**Washington, D.C. – General Beckman's Office:**

"So let me get this straight," Beckman said in her typical no nonsense style. "You're all concerned that Chuck is **not** having any side effects? That's what we were all so worried about. Isn't that a good thing?"

The three men that were gathered around her conference table looked at each other uncomfortably. "Yes, ma'am," one of them finally said. "I suppose, from a certain perspective, that's true. We're just afraid that it is a sign that Bartowski is not in firm control of the intersect."

"Why would you think that?" Beckman asked. "He passed all of your tests with flying colors."

"Yes, ma'am," the man said. "There is no question that he has some ability to function as an intersect. He has been very successful at Blackjack. But that test was in a controlled environment. We haven't been able to truly test him under stress."

"Why would that matter?" Beckman asked.

"We're just not sure, ma'am," the man replied. "All of our psychological profiling and analysis work has always assumed a trained agent as the intersect. Bartowski is simply not reacting like we expected -- at all. From Agent Walter's reports, there is no hint of any of the side effects that we would expect. We just don't know what it means."

"Well, what in the hell do you know?" Beckman asked angrily. "This entire approach is based upon you and your team's recommendation."

"It's my opinion that we should test him, ma'am," the man replied stiffly. "Under some stressful conditions."

If there was any question as to Beckman's mood, there really shouldn't have been. Her anger was clear. "What do you have in mind," she growled.

"I would suggest that we send him on a mission," the man said. "We'll set up a situation where he would be confronted and he would need the intersect to get himself out of it."

Beckman sighed. "Very well," she said. "I guess we'd better make sure."

**Home Base – Workout Room:**

Janice and Sarah were always competitive. They had been since the first day that they met. There was no question about that. So their early morning workouts were quickly becoming something akin to torture sessions. And one would think that Janice would have had somewhat of an advantage. After all, Sarah had just had a baby a little over three months ago. But there was one advantage that Sarah had over Janice. Sexual frustration was a huge motivator. And since Casey came over every day around noon and Sarah hadn't seen Chuck in almost two weeks -- well you do the math.

Joe West had wisely been keeping somewhat of a low profile. Oh, he usually came and at least pretended to work out with them. But his eyes never left Sarah's chest. And since she didn't own a sports bra that could be remotely considered modest – he often got quite a show.

Somehow today, Janice had roped Sarah into a contest of leg squats. It wasn't Sarah's favorite exercise – by a long shot. And that meant that Janice bested her quite easily. Sarah was actually quite famous for not liking to lose. So when she yet again spotted West staring at her chest, she was exhausted, frustrated, pissed – and on the edge.

"Damn it," Sarah said as she threw her towel at him and stomped off. "Could you be any more obvious" she called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"What's wrong with her?" West said – to really no one in particular.

"She's frustrated," Janice said with a grin. "Chuck has been gone for two weeks. She's not used to that. Pretty soon, she's going to start gnawing on the furniture."

West just grinned. "I'd be happy to help her out," he said.

Janice just laughed and shook her head. "Not going to happen," she said. "Unless…"

Now West's interest was piqued. "Unless?" he asked.

Janice sighed. "Okay, Joe," she said. "She's suffering. And she is my friend. So I'll help you out. Do you really want to have a chance with her?"

West looked at her skeptically. "Yes," he finally said.

"I thought so," Janice said with a grin. "Well, there actually is a secret. Sarah is usually a pretty tough nut to crack. But – she has a weakness…" She then went up to West and whispered in his ear.

"No way," West said skeptically. "Do you think I'm falling for that? What about Chuck? That's not true of him."

"Okay," Janice said, hiding her smirk from West as she walked away. "It's your call. I thought you wanted a shot with her. But when Casey comes over later – be sure to ask him how many years it took Chuck to get Sarah in bed."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Adam Colson knew that there was a limit to how long he could keep his men cooped up like this. Especially since all he had to go on was an uneasy feeling. And even being a God only took you so far with morale. After all, ask Moses about those hundred years in the desert. So maybe it was time to let them have a little fun.

But after tonight, it was back to the grindstone. They had to figure out some way to find Sarah Walker. And, really, the only lead they had was that Beckman's personal plane landed in L.A. right after they found Bryce Larkin's body. Was that a coincidence? Perhaps. But it was all they had. Might as well pursue it.

**Las Vegas, Nevada – The Wynn Hotel and Casino:**

Chuck really couldn't put his finger on it – but something was wrong. Well, there was one thing that he could put his finger on. He hadn't seen his wife and baby girl in approaching two whole weeks. He could clearly see the tension in her face when he talked to her this afternoon. Oh, she was putting on a brave front. But who did she think she was kidding? This was now officially the longest they had been apart in – well – since they had met.

So far, this had been a complete waste of time. There was absolutely no sign of Colson – or his gang. Beckman was starting to fear that they had left Las Vegas. Maybe he had discovered that they were on to his location. She had talked to the team about withdrawing. But Chuck had talked her out of it. After all, this guy was after Sarah. He had to be caught. And Vegas was as good a place to look for him as any.

The other thing was Elise. She was clearly antsy. Oh, she was fine on the missions. But something was clearly bothering her. For one thing, they had been making the rounds of high roller blackjack tables around the strip. And that meant pouring herself into her hooker dress and playing the part of an escort while the intersect was playing cards. It couldn't have been fun for her. It didn't even leave time for conversation. She didn't want to disrupt the intersect when he was concentrating.

And that was the only good thing about the situation. Chuck – or more accurately, the intersect – was up well over two hundred thousand dollars. It was the most money Chuck had ever had in his whole life. Hopefully, Casey would let him keep it. Although he could hear his lecture already. It rightfully belonged to the taxpayers.

Elise had just come out of the bathroom. But instead of tonight's party dress – a blue number that simply looked sexy even still on the hanger -- she was in her jeans. "Get out of those clothes," she said.

But when she saw the look in his eyes, she realized what she sounded like. "I didn't mean it like that," she quickly said with a grin. "Put on your jeans."

"Don't we have to look for Colson?" Chuck asked.

"I just got a call from Beckman," Elise said. "We have a side mission for tonight. Then we'll just hang around the strip for the rest of the night. Maybe we'll get lucky."

**Home Base – Laundry Room:**

Sarah still wasn't in a very good mood. For one thing, she was trying to catch up on the laundry. Doing laundry was not her favorite thing under the best of circumstances. And these were far from the best of circumstances. It was hard not having Chuck around to help with Kate. And even though Janice could now feed her – she was always in the damn bedroom with Casey.

That was, of course, the other thing. Why was it fair that Janice got to be with Casey every day – and she hadn't had a whiff of Chuck in two weeks? And it was more than just she missed sex. Oh, she missed the sex – no question about that. But even more she missed… him. She missed the way that he could make her laugh. She missed the way he made her feel safe. And it was more than she missed him. She was worried sick about him. And not just the stupid side effects. What would happen when they found Colson? Was Elise strong enough to help?

So, really, it was the last person in the world that she wanted to see who just walked into the room. _But why is his head shaved? It looks ridiculous_. Then she suddenly realized – _Janice – she got him again._ In spite of what she strongly suspected was coming, she couldn't keep the grin off her face.

West completely misinterpreted the grin as a smile. "Need any help?" he asked with a smirk of his own.

**Las Vegas, Nevada – A neighborhood about a mile from the Strip:**

"Are you sure this is the address?" Chuck asked incredulously. Once you got away from the strip a few blocks, Las Vegas was pretty much the same as any large city. There were neighborhoods that – well, were less than upscale. And the house they were currently in front of certainly fit that description. It clearly hadn't been painted in many years. There was a group of men standing in front of the house -- sharing what could only loosely be called a cigarette.

"That's what Beckman told me," Elise said. She tried to keep her tone light – but the truth was she wasn't any happier to be in this neighborhood than Chuck. "She said that our contact would be here."

Chuck walked up to the group of men. "Hey," he said.

"Piss off," one of the men said. "This is a private party."

"Sorry to bother you," Chuck said. "But we're…"

"Are you fucking deaf?" the man said. "On second thought -- your bitch can stay. She's looking pretty fine."

Chuck instinctively stepped towards Elise, putting himself between her and the man. Unfortunately, Chuck never saw the punch coming until it impacted his jaw. Before he knew what was happening, two of the men dragged him up by his arms. A third man punched him directly in the gut. The wind escaping from his lungs was clearly audible. After another punch, it was clear that Chuck was in serious trouble.

Suddenly a shot rang out. When Chuck looked over, he could see Elise with her gun pointed in the air. The men simply dropped Chuck where he was and ran.

Elise thought about taking a shot at one of them, but she was too concerned. "Are you okay," she cried as she ran over to where Chuck was lying.

Chuck was dazed – but still conscious. "I think so," he was finally able to choke out as Elise was attempting to help him to his feet.

**Home Base – Laundry Room:**

Sarah could tell by the look in his eyes that West had been drinking – and that helping her with the laundry wasn't high on his agenda for this evening. "Agent West," she said calmly. "This is your one and only official warning. I am completely in love with my husband. I have no desire for anything romantic with you. If you do anything even remotely inappropriate – I'm going to hurt you."

West actually seemed to consider that – for a moment. But then the smug grin returned. "I'm not looking for romance," he said. "But let's face it… you need this as much as I do."

Sarah really had no place to go. The laundry room wasn't that big. And she was backed up against the dryer as it was. So she quickly slid off her shoe.

Even drunk, West was on her quicker than she anticipated. When Sarah tried to turn her head to avoid his kiss attempt, he roughly grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her to face him. She could now taste the liquor on his breath as his mouth covered hers. She attempted to push him away until he used the leverage of the handful of hair to twist her head until she dropped her arms. Then he turned her face back toward his waiting lips.

This was rapidly getting completely out of hand. While his one hand kept her head in place with the handful of hair, his other hand was already up her shirt. He had quickly lifted her bra out of place and was roughly pawing her now bare breast.

Sarah knew that she was going to have a fight on her hands – one that she might not win. Her head was already on fire where he was pulling her hair. After all, this was a big, powerful, fully trained agent. She could make some noise and try to get Janice's attention. But that would wake Kate. And by the time Janice got to her, he'd probably have done whatever he was planning on and smoking his cigarette anyway. Fortunately, she knew exactly what to do. After all, she had taught a class. But he was too damn close.

So Sarah relaxed. She opened her mouth and allowed West full access. "Okay, Joe," she whispered as soon as the kiss broke. "You win. Just let me get rid of these clothes first."

Sarah reached for the hem of her shirt and began to slowly lift it. West grinned and took a step back. After all, this was the moment he had been waiting for. He wanted to get the full view of Sarah Walker taking off her shirt.

That was a serious mistake.

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

There was no way to get a taxi in the neighborhood that they were in. So they were forced to walk the mile or so back to the strip. Elise was trying to help Chuck as much as possible – but he was clearly struggling. And the truth was – they both felt horrible.

Chuck felt badly because – well, his ribs were killing him. But more than that the intersect should have kicked in. Why didn't it? That was going to be a concern. If the intersect wasn't working, he was going to be pretty much helpless.

But, truth be told, Elise was feeling worse than Chuck was. She was supposed to be the agent. Why had she stood there and watched while he took three shots? She should have reacted faster.

"Are you sure you're okay," Elise asked for about the twentieth time is the last twenty minutes. "Maybe we should take you in and get checked out. I didn't like the look of that last punch."

"I'm fine," Chuck reassured her. Actually, he was starting to feel the pain wear off. It was now more of a dull ache. "Let's stop at the first place we can, have a drink, and forget tonight happened."

And, as it turned out, the first place was the MGM Grand. All in all, not a bad place to have a drink.

**Washington, D.C. – General Beckman's Office:**

Fortunately, there was no one in General Beckman's office. That was a good thing – because she didn't like for anybody to see her rattled. And this phone call definitely had her rattled.

"Are you sure that they thought the attack was real?" Beckman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," the man replied. "Agent Walters took a shot at us."

"And Bartowski wasn't competent at all?" Beckman, more pleaded than asked.

"No, ma'am," the man said sadly. "He offered no resistance at all."

As soon as the call ended, Beckman just sat and stared at her desk for a long moment. "Damn," she finally sighed into an empty room. "What are we going to do now?"

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Chuck could tell that something was seriously wrong. Not with himself – but with his partner. Elise had always been a serious drinker. But nothing like this. She was throwing back shots of tequila basically one after another. Chuck had just started his second beer and Elise was already on her fifth shot. He knew that he had to help her with it. But first he had to find out what 'it' was.

So Chuck grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the bar and found a table for them. For two reasons really. Sure, he wanted a private conversation. But he also wanted her to have to wait for a while to get her next shot. When he got her sitting at the table, he plopped down next to her without letting go of her hand. "Elise, what's wrong," he said. "Come on – talk to me."

Elise wouldn't look at Chuck. But the tears filling her eyes were plain. "I suck at this," she finally said, more to the table than to Chuck.

"You suck at what?" Chuck asked softly.

"Name it," Elise whispered. Now the tears were seriously threatening to flow.

Chuck gave her hand a squeeze – maybe harder than he intended. "Huh?" he asked. "Elise, you are incredible. You're beautiful, and smart, and witty, and kick-ass. You need to start seeing yourself as others see you."

"I'm a lousy spy," Elise said. "I almost got you killed tonight."

"See," Chuck said. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. You didn't almost get me killed tonight. You saved me from being killed. And, yes, there are some physical things that Sarah and Janice might be better at. But there are lots of things that you are way better at. Who else could have gotten Casey and Janice back together that night? You did it – and you made it seem like it was their idea. And what about Ellie and Devon? They…"

"There's something about that you don't know," Elise interrupted as the tears began to flow. "I messed Ellie up. I thought I was doing a good thing. But now she is wanting to seduce a mark for real. I've probably messed them up forever."

Chuck started laughing. And even though it was hurting his ribs, he couldn't stop. As a matter of fact, he was laughing to hard to speak.

Elise just stared at Chuck for a long moment. "You think that's funny?" she finally asked incredulously.

Chuck struggled to get the words out. "It's the funniest thing I've ever heard," he said. "There's something that you don't know. Ellie was setting you up. She doesn't want to seduce anybody – she was just getting back at you."

Pure surprise caused Elise to stop crying. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"Simple," Chuck said as soon as he could control his laughing. "It was my plan."

"You," Elise said. "Why would you do that to me?"

"It was actually Sarah's idea," Chuck said. "What can I say? She plied me with sex."

Now Elise was stunned. "Sarah?" she asked. "Why would Sarah do something like that to me? What have I ever done to her?"

"She wasn't trying to be mean," Chuck said. "Just the opposite. Nothing tells someone that you really love them like pulling a practical joke on them. She was trying to tell you that she loves you."

Finally the light bulb went on. "Sonofabitch," Elise said. "That means that Ellie and Janice…"

"Were playing you like a violin," Chuck interrupted with a grin. "You obviously fell for it – hook, line, and sinker."

"Sonofabitch," Elise said as her face broke into a grin. "That settles it. You're helping me get them back."

"I don't know," Chuck teased. "Sarah plied me with sex. What do you got?"

But Chuck never got to hear Elise's counteroffer. Because he locked eyes with a man sitting at the bar – in the same seat that Elise had just left.

Elise noticed the flash right away. She waited until it was over. "Well," she asked expectantly.

"We just hit the jackpot," Chuck said with a smile. "The man at the bar – tan jacket -- he's Josh Pearson. He's one of Colson's gang."

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

Sarah saw the alarm that a call was incoming in the Communication Room. And Sarah couldn't get down there fast enough. Chuck didn't call this late often. But he had sometimes. And she really needed to see his face. The earlier confrontation with West had her still quite shaken. So when she accepted the call and saw Beckman's face, she couldn't hide her disappointment.

"I understand that I may not be your favorite person in the world," Beckman said sarcastically. "But you don't have to look quite so devastated."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Sarah said with as much smile as she could muster. "I was just hoping that this was Chuck."

"I understand," Beckman said. "Actually, I'm afraid you won't be hearing from Chuck for a while. They have made contact."

As tense as that news was, it was also hopeful. The sooner they could get this over with, the sooner they could get on with their lives. But there was something about Beckman's tone. It had a sense of foreboding.

Beckman quickly confirmed that sense. "I'm afraid," she said firmly. "We have a serious issue."

**End of Chapter**


	21. God Complex

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Who is supposed to have the God Complex? Chuck? Beckman? West? Sarah and Janice? Let's see how Beckman and Sarah deal with their conflicting agendas._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**God Complex**

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Chuck and Elise were huddled together at their table trying to figure out a strategy – quite literally. Elise was making them look like a couple necking – not an uncommon occurrence at all in a Vegas bar – to cover for Chuck's flashes. Chuck had spent the last couple of minutes pouring over the agent's records – trying to find a natural connection for Elise to exploit. Finally he – or more accurately the intersect -- had one.

"Okay," Chuck whispered into Elise's ear – while she made quite a show out of kissing his neck – his name is Josh Pearson. He was in Washington in 2008. He met with your Fulcrum contact, Joe and received an assignment to assassinate a Colombian diplomat named Juan Carlos. His mission was successful. You can probably claim that Joe introduced you on that trip and that you recognized him. Will that give you enough to go on?"

Elise paused kissing Chuck's neck and smiled. She then leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said with a grin as she got up from her seat. "There are a lot of things I suck at. Picking up a guy in a bar is actually something that I'm good at."

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

"But, ma'am," Sarah said. "How can we allow them to contact Colson if the intersect is not working properly? They'll get killed – or worse."

Just then, Janice walked into the room. She was obviously responding to the alarm. But she was just as obviously still trying to wake up.

"We have a couple of serious problems," Beckman said. "First, we have no way to contact them. Their instructions were to go silent as soon as they made contact. And this is also our one main chance to engage Colson. Who knows when – or if – we'll get another?"

"You're not sacrificing Chuck," Sarah screamed as she stood up. "I'm going to go find him."

"Sit down, Sarah," Beckman said firmly. "Right now, you going to Vegas to look for Chuck would be the worst possible thing."

"But, ma'am," Sarah said. "He's helpless. I'm going."

"Agent Beckman," Beckman said.

"Ma'am," Janice replied.

"I'm issuing you a direct order," Beckman said. "Place Sarah under house arrest. She is confined to base until further notice. Get Agent West to assist you. I'm contacting Colonel Casey to also come and back you up. Until he arrives, cuff her. If she attempts to resist, tranq her. Do you understand? Acknowledge my order."

"Yes, ma'am," Janice said sadly. "I understand. I am ordered to use whatever force is necessary to keep Sarah from leaving the base. I do believe that Agent West may be unavailable. When I came down here, he was in the bathroom – obviously vomiting."

Beckman sighed. _What more could go wrong tonight_? "What's wrong with Agent West?" she asked. "Is he ill? Does he have a touch of the flu?"

"Something like that," Sarah growled. "My big toe 'flu' into his nuts."

Beckman had to bite her lip to keep the smile from her face. Smiling would be the last thing to do under the circumstances. "I assume there was another incident?" she asked with a sigh.

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah growled. "Apparently, Agent West misplaced his gun – so he decided to grab me by the hair and twist my head until I agreed to help him look for it – inside of my bra. Since he didn't find it inside of my bra, after an exhaustive search, I'm fairly sure he was about ready to next look inside my panties. If you incapacitate me, I'll be helpless against his next advance. If that happens, I won't be held responsible for my actions."

Beckman's voice noticeably softened. "Sarah," she said. "I'm very reluctant to forcibly subdue you. But I also can't have you running off to Vegas. That would be a disaster. Trust me, I'm trying to look out for your -- and Chuck's – best interest. Agent Walters' inside connection still is our best shot at this moment. We have no reason to believe that they are in any immediate danger. Is there some assurance you can give me that you'll follow my order?"

Sarah sighed. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "For the moment, anyway."

Beckman breathed a sigh of relief. "Agent Beckman, belay your previous order. Sarah is still confined to base. But as long as, in your judgment, she makes no attempt to resist – there is no need to restrain her."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And Janice," Beckman said. "One more thing…"

Janice knew that using her first name was no accident. This was now personal. "Ma'am?" she asked.

"Take your weapon," Beckman growled. "Go upstairs and point it between Agent West's eyes. Tell him that if he ever so much as accidentally brushes Sarah's arm in the hallway, I've authorized you to pull the trigger."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Adam Colson took a few minutes to review everything the intersect knew about Elise Walters and Charles Carmichael. There was a lot on Walters. She was definitely Fulcrum. She had been for several years. A very mediocre career – for both the CIA and Fulcrum. Most of her missions had been between the sheets. She looked to have made a career out of being a highly trained escort.

And her story of meeting Pearson made sense. They were both in Washington at the same time. It was a little odd that Pearson didn't remember her. After all, she was stunning. But then again, it was years ago, agents met lots of stunning women, and Pearson wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

But he didn't like it that he had nothing on Carmichael. That made him nervous. Oh, his story checked out. If he had really only been recruited by Fulcrum a month before the attack, the intersect wouldn't necessarily have anything on him. And he did know all of the Fulcrum contact names in Bogotá. So it was very possible that he was there at the time of the attack.

"So, Pearson," Colson said. "They expressed an interest in joining our little group?"

"I'm not sure, sir," Pearson replied. "I didn't indicate that there was any Fulcrum presence except me here. They did indicate that they were interested in seeking revenge against the CIA. And that they were looking for allies."

"Where are they now?" Colson asked.

"Downstairs, sir," Pearson replied. "They are waiting for me. They say they are undercover as a couple. But it's clear that they have been playing house for a while. They were all over each other."

"Excellent," Colson said. "Get Cook in here. Go downstairs and invite them to your room for a meeting. If Walters still has CIA credentials, they may be of some value to us. Maybe we can send them on an assignment and see how much value they can bring."

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

As soon as the screen went dark, Janice turned to Sarah. "Call Ellie," she said. "Get her over her to watch Kate. We'll take Casey and drive to Vegas and find him."

Sarah smiled in spite of the tenseness of the situation. "You'd be violating a direct order," she said. "Not to mention disobeying your mom. She might ground you."

"Well," Janice said sarcastically. "It wouldn't be the first time that she's grounded me. Like she really thought I would tranq you. Chuck's in trouble. Let's go get him."

Sarah saw the desperation in Janice's eyes and realized – that's exactly how she had herself just looked to Beckman. So she grabbed Janice and wrapped her arms around her. "I know exactly how you feel," she said. "But actually, she's right – for now anyway. Us going to Vegas half cocked would blow his cover and probably get us all killed. Elise does have a shot at getting close to him. We need to trust her."

"Maybe," Janice said. "But how can we sit here and not know? We're talking about Chuck."

Sarah sighed. "I know," she said. "You've spent more time with Elise than I have. What is your honest opinion? What are her chances?"

Janice thought about it for a long moment. "It depends," she finally said slowly. "When it comes to infiltrating, she is probably the best at any of us. I have no doubt that she'll be able to get close to him. But it's after that where I have my doubts. She's the worst shot I've ever seen. Chuck is better."

"How did she ever graduate?" Sarah asked.

"Take a guess," Janice said with a grin. "She was certified by Chuck Wilson."

Sarah shook her head. "That horny old fart," she said. "The agency has to do something about him. He is going to get someone killed."

"Should we report her," Janice asked. "We could have her decertified for field work in a second."

Sarah thought about it for a second. "No," she said. "If it's what Elise wants to do, we'll give her a choice. Quit – or live with us in the shooting range until she's qualified. She's earned that much loyalty from us."

"Speaking of horny farts," Janice said. "What should I do with Agent West? Was he going to rape you?"

"I'm not sure," Sarah said. "It really never got close to that before he decided to take a bathroom break. But I didn't like the look in his eyes. He had been drinking. Did you tell him to shave his head?"

Janice couldn't help but grin. "I told him that men with shaved heads are your fetish," she said. "I never thought the stupid bastard would fall for it. What should I do? I'm supposed to point my gun between his eyes. The gun could accidentally go off."

"No," Sarah said. "That would scare Kate – and just make a mess. I think he might have learned his lesson. Let's give him one more chance."

**Las Vegas, Nevada – MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:**

Pearson led Chuck and Elise to his room. Elise's spy instincts were ringing off the hook. She had so firm a hold on Chuck's hand that it was beginning to hurt him. As soon as Pearson opened the door, they immediately noticed another man in the room.

"Hello," he said with a bright smile. "My name is Adam Colson. I'm pleased to meet you."

Elise let go of Chuck's hand long enough to shake Colson's hand. _This is going to be easy_. Neither man had any visible weapon. All she had to do is pull out her gun and shoot. She was so close that she couldn't possibly miss. But when she went to reach behind her back to grab her gun, she felt Chuck's hand grab her wrist.

"I'm so excited," he said. "I can't tell you how long we've been looking for a friendly face." Then he leaned in to kiss Elise's cheek. "Thanks, sweetie," he said. "I'm glad you recognized him in the bar. That was luck." But when he kissed her he also whispered so that only she could hear. "It's not him."

"Tell me," the man who had identified himself as Colson said. "You say that you are still loyal to Fulcrum. What if I told you that there are a whole group of us?"

Chuck answered. "We'd be excited, sir," he said. "We've heard rumors that there was a group reforming. We'd like to join."

"Would you mind proving that?" the pretend Colson asked.

"Yes, sir," Chuck said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Agent Walters," the pretend Colson said. "Do you still have CIA credentials?"

"Yes, sir," Elise said crisply. "They have never identified me as a Fulcrum agent. Probably because I've performed so few missions for them."

"Yes," the pretend Colson said. "You were designated as a sleeper agent. You do realize that they will eventually figure it out? They now have access to all of the old Fulcrum records. It will take them a while to get to that conclusion – but they will eventually get there. And once they do…"

Elise swallowed. "Yes, sir," she said. "I understand. Do you have an assignment for us?"

The pretend Colson smiled. "A real down to business type gal," he said. "I like that. Indeed, I do have an assignment. Do you know who Diane Beckman is?"

"Of course, sir," Elise said. "General Beckman? Head of the NSA? I've never met her in person – but I've participated in video conferences with her on several occasions. A real hard ass, sir."

He smiled again. "So I've heard," he said. "I haven't yet had the pleasure. But her personal plane landed at LAX seventeen days ago. We'd like you to poke around and try to find out why."

"Yes, sir," Elise said. "It sounds pretty easy."

"Indeed," he said. "Take Carmichael here. It sounds like you have established something of a working relationship. Report back in three days. We won't be here. We have to move around a lot. But meet Pearson in front of the Lion head at midnight Thursday. He'll bring you to me."

"Yes, sir."

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Sarah was trying to fall asleep. She just wasn't having much success. After all, it had been a hell of a night. Usually something like an attempted rape would be at the fore of her thoughts -- but not tonight. She was consumed by one thought – was Chuck okay?

Janice must have gotten through to Agent West. Or maybe it was Sarah's big toe. Whichever it was -- he came and apologized. And he sounded sincere enough. Of course, that didn't come close to making up for his ridiculous attack. But it was nice – as far as it went.

Sarah finally resorted to her favorite tactic when she couldn't sleep. She relived her wedding day – actually both of them. They were entirely different days. The first one, Chuck was so nervous that he actually made her join him. But the second one, she was the one who was, by far, the most nervous. And it was actually Chuck who calmed her down.

Sarah was just nicely drifting off to sleep when she felt him slide into bed beside her. _Okay, this is getting ridiculous. So much for his apology_. She elbowed him in the ribs as sharply as she could and rolled off the bed. She turned on the light to find her gun. It was time to end this bastard.

But when the light came on, the sight was both simultaneously joyous and horrible. Joyous because it was Chuck. Horrible because he was writhing in pain holding his ribs.

Sarah ran over to him. "Sweetie," she said. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? What are you doing here?"

All Chuck could do was groan for a long moment. "I live here," he finally was able to get out. "Did I leave the toilet seat up again?"

**End of Chapter**


	22. Intersect Fuel

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Can Chuck learn to control the intersect? And if he can, what will the price be? If he can't, what does that mean for the team? _

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Intersect Fuel**

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Sarah was truly alarmed at how much pain Chuck apparently was in. "Okay, Chuck," she said firmly. "You're scaring me. I need you to talk to me right now, please. I really didn't hit you that hard. Is something else wrong?"

"I know," Chuck groaned. "It's just that I got punched earlier tonight – in that same spot. It was already sore. I'll be okay."

"Take off your shirt," Sarah said.

"I'm okay," Chuck said. "Really, Sarah. It hurt for a minute – but it's fading pretty quickly now."

But Sarah was insistent – in a way that only Sarah could be. "Come on, Chuck," she said. "I want to look at you and make sure that you're not really hurt. From the report I heard, you took a couple of pretty serious shots."

Chuck stopped unbuttoning his shirt and jerked his head up in surprise. "The report that you heard?" he asked. "What report? Nobody except Elise knows what happened."

"It was a test," Sarah said sarcastically. "Beckman's group of geniuses wanted to test the intersect under stressful conditions. I'm afraid that in their eyes you failed. Now we're going to have to figure out what to do. There's no way you can face Colson without the intersect. Why are you home anyway? Did you meet him?"

"No," Chuck said. "We met one of his men pretending to be him. He is obviously being very cautious. They sent us on a mission to test our usefulness."

"That figures," Sarah said.

Chuck didn't respond. He just finished taking off his shirt. Indeed, there was a nasty bruise forming on the left side of his lower ribcage.

Sarah gently touched the bruised area. "Does this hurt," she asked.

"It's sore," Chuck replied. "Very sore… but it doesn't really hurt."

"I think that you're going to be okay," Sarah said as she picked up her phone. "But we'd better make sure. Ellie is working the late shift. I'll text her. Maybe she can swing by after she gets out and take a look at you."

"I don't want to bother Ellie," Chuck sighed.

"Chuck," Sarah said firmly. "You know Ellie. If she finds out that you were hurt – and we didn't call her – she'll give you another bruise on your other side. Now take off your pants."

"My pants?" Chuck questioned. "There's nothing bothering me down there."

Sarah walked over and turned off the lights. "Not yet maybe," she said in the now darkened room. "But it's been a long two weeks. Let's see what we can do about that."

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

Sarah didn't want to wake up. Oh, she knew that she had too. Her internal alarm clock was telling her that Kate would be up soon. But it was such a nice dream – such a warm, comfortable dream. Couldn't she just lie there and stay dreaming forever? But she finally opened her eyes – and full memory returned. It wasn't a dream. Her head was lying in its old comfortable position, on Chuck's chest. And just like always, her head was gently raising and falling with each breath he took. And even though she was tired from last night's – activities -- it felt so great. She knew that Kate would need to be fed soon. And that wasn't her fault – of course. But still, she thought to herself with a smile – a good daughter would pick today to sleep in. So she snuggled into his chest to enjoy the last few minutes when he opened his eyes.

"Good morning, gorgeous," he said. "I've really missed you."

And there it was – that smile – the smile that she hadn't seen in two weeks. And, to be honest, she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. So she did a little of both.

Chuck's smile never faded. He pulled Sarah into him and rolled them both over so that Sarah was on her back with Chuck on his side. He reached over and gently kissed her. well, gently at first anyway. It quickly became – well, more than gentle.

"Wow," Sarah said with a grin when the kiss broke. "Aren't you the frisky one? I would have thought you'd be tired from last night."

Chuck seemed to consider that for an instant. But then the grin appeared again. "Apparently not," he said as he moved in for another long kiss. "Besides – we're already naked. Seems like fate…"

"Chuck," Sarah moaned as Chuck began to trace kisses down her neck. "I'm all for this – but Kate is going to wake up any second."

Chuck paused in his journey south for an instant. He lifted his head up to grin at her. "I guess I'd better hurry and get to the good stuff," he said.

So Sarah relaxed. She closed he eyes and gently stroked Chuck's hair as he resumed his efforts.

But then, Chuck stopped. "Oh my God," he said after a moment. "Sarah, did I do that?"

When Sarah reluctantly opened her eyes, she saw Chuck staring at the nasty bruise on her breast.

Chuck was beside himself. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I know we got intense last night – but I didn't think I was getting rough. Did the intersect kick in and do this? Why didn't you say something? Does it hurt?"

Sarah quickly saw the tears filling Chuck's eyes – and she knew that he was feeling guilty. It wasn't exactly the moment she would have picked to tell him – but she couldn't let him feel guilty. "Sweetie," she said as softly as she could. "Don't worry. You didn't do that. It doesn't hurt much. It looks a lot worse than it feels."

But Chuck couldn't take his eyes off the spot. "What happened?" he whispered.

Sarah knew that she needed to prepare him to hear the story. The last thing she wanted was for him to assume that she had encouraged him in any way. "Chuck," she said. "I'll tell you the whole story. But first I want you to promise me that you'll let me finish before you react. It's not as bad as it sounds at first."

Chuck simply stared at her.

"Agent West has been after me," Sarah started. "I think you know that. Well last night, he had been drinking and cornered me in the laundry room. I couldn't get past him. He tried to make a pass at me. Things got a little rough."

"Sonofabitch," Chuck said numbly. "That bastard attacked you? How rough did he get?"

"Pretty rough," Sarah said. "He was pretty drunk. He grabbed my hair and forced me to kiss him. Then he forced his hand up my shirt. That's where I got the bruise."

Chuck just sat and stared at the bed. "How far did he get?" he finally asked.

"That's about it," Sarah said. "I was trying to fight him but he's a pretty big guy. And he had me backed up against the dryer so I didn't have much room to maneuver. Eventually I was able to kick him in the groin. He spent the rest of the night in the bathroom puking his guts out. But Chuck – I swear that I didn't do anything to encourage him. Please believe me."

Chuck looked at Sarah like she had grown a second head. "This bastard tries to rape you," he said. "And that's what you think I'd be worried about? Where the hell was Janice when this guy was attacking you? She's supposed to be protecting you. And why in the hell am I just hearing about this now?"

"Sweetie," Sarah said. "I know that this sounds bad. What he did was completely unacceptable. But I promise you, I'm doing my best to protect you. You're on a life and death mission. I can defend myself. I was never going to keep this from you. But it just happened last night – and I was too happy to see you to think about it. There just wasn't a good time to tell you. Please don't be mad at me."

"Do you really think that I'm mad at you?" Chuck asked incredulously. 'That I think this is your fault? That you somehow encouraged him? Really, Sarah? Aren't we past that?"

Sarah was too relieved to speak right away. Well actually, relieved – and more than a little embarrassed. "We are," she finally whispered with a sad smile. "We're way past that. I'm sorry. I was being stupid. It's just that with everything going on lately…"

"I understand," Chuck said softly. "It's been a tough couple of weeks. I hear Kate crying. But before we go get her – I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you're okay."

Sarah looked up at Chuck. A faint smile came to her lips. "I'm okay," she said. "I am now. How about you?"

"I will be," Chuck said. "I need to take care of something. Then I want to see Kate."

"She's really missed you," Sarah said with a smile. "She has been cranky ever since you've been gone."

"I'll be right in," Chuck said. "I just need to do something first. I'll meet you in her room."

**Home Base – Dining Room:**

Chuck had never been so angry in his life -- never close. And Joe West could see him coming from a mile away. He could clearly tell by the look in Chuck's eyes that a fight was coming. So he got up from where he was sitting drinking his coffee to face him.

West wasn't concerned – not at all. After all, without the intersect, Chuck was no match for a trained agent. Maybe teaching his guy a lesson would show Walker who the real man was. Not only that, he would be able to claim self defense to Beckman. It might be something to use to his advantage someday. Besides, kicking this guy's ass would perhaps relieve some frustration. He was still sore where Walker had kicked him. _Was that really necessary?_ So, as Chuck approached, West took a big swing, aiming for the tip of his jaw.

Chuck had flashed as soon as he saw West sitting at the table. So he easily saw the roundhouse punch coming. It looked to be in slow motion. It was an incredibly sloppy move for a trained agent. It was more like something you would see in a bar fight. West clearly didn't take him seriously as an opponent. The intersect quickly gave Chuck several counterattack options. Chuck eliminated the lethal ones – for now anyway -- this bastard was going to suffer.

Chuck ducked the punch at the last instant. He then grabbed West's arm and twisted. The intersect had calculated the exact force and angle needed to dislocate West's shoulder. "Damn," Chuck mocked him through gritted teeth as he heard the ligaments pop. "Sorry about that. Man, that really looks like it would be painful."

At least West now took him seriously. Not that it did him much good. The intersect quickly calculated that the most painful blow would be a kick – just below his diaphragm. If Chuck had given it his full force, the blow would have been fatal. But not yet. "I thought that you guys were trained to **talk** women into bed," Chuck mocked. "I really didn't think you'd have to resort to force. What's the matter? Need to take a refresher course in seduction?"

Naturally, West didn't answer. He couldn't have even if he wanted to. His breath was completely gone from the kick.

Chuck calculated his next move. The intersect directed him to follow up with a kick to the side of West's knee. Again, full force would have destroyed his knee joint. The required reconstructive surgery would surely have ended his career as an agent. So Chuck pulled up a little short, choosing instead to only dislocate the knee.

West had dropped to his knees. He was now completely helpless and barely conscious. So Chuck grabbed his throat, cutting off his air supply. His intention was to choke him until he was unconscious. But something happened. He looked over and saw Sarah holding Kate. Through the rage of the intersect, he could hear her pleading with him to stop. Since he couldn't bear to see the tears running down her face – he let go.

Chuck turned back to West. The entire altercation had taken less than twenty seconds. But it was devastating. West was lying in a heap. "If you ever," Chuck said. "And I mean ever – so much as glance in her direction again – I'll finish this."

Naturally, West wasn't paying much attention to what Chuck was saying. He was too busy trying to breath. And he was barely conscious.

Chuck walked up to where Janice was watching. "Where in the hell were you when all of this was happening?" he shouted. "You said that you had this. I trusted you. Letting her get raped is not my idea…"

But then Chuck paused as he saw the look on Janice's face. She was clearly crushed. He looked around. Elise was standing there with a stupid grin on her face. But she was the only one. Sarah and Janice were crying. So was Kate. West was lying on the floor moaning. It was more than Chuck could handle. So he just ran downstairs.

**Home Base – Workout Room:**

Chuck hadn't been downstairs very long at all before Sarah came looking for him. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

Chuck just looked at her for a long moment. "I'm so sorry, Sarah," he finally said. "I just snapped. I'm sorry that you had to see that – you had to see me like that."

Sarah just sighed. "It's a pretty powerful thing in your head," she said. "Isn't it? You could easily have killed him. You held back, didn't you?"

Chuck ignored her question. "Do you think I'm a monster?" he asked.

Sarah smiled. "I don't think anything, sweetie," she said. "I know for sure that you're not a monster. You were defending me. You would have been justified in going farther."

Chuck nodded. "How is he?" he asked.

"Ellie is here," Sarah said. "She got my earlier message. She is looking at him. She was able to get his shoulder and knee back in place. He is going to be in bed for a few days. He'll be in a lot of pain. But I'll bet he thinks twice before he attacks his next woman."

"How is Janice?" Chuck asked.

Sarah sighed. "Pretty devastated," she admitted. "She's in her room. There's something you should know. After she heard about what happened, she stuck her gun between West's eyes and told him if he touched me again, she would pull the trigger."

"I'll go talk to her," Chuck said. "I feel terrible. How's Kate?"

"Kate's fine," Sarah said. "Elise is feeding her. She really misses you."

Chuck looked into Sarah's eyes for the first time. "And how are you?" he asked.

Sarah could see the tears filling his eyes. "Chuck look," she finally said. "I know that you feel bad. That you're afraid maybe I'll think less of you. That somehow you've changed. And I'll admit -- I was worried about that myself at first when we heard about the side effects."

Chuck just nodded.

"I'm glad that you didn't kill him," Sarah continued. "I would have – but I'm glad that you didn't."

Chuck face showed his surprise.

"Don't get me wrong," Sarah said as a smile began to appear. "I'm not worried about West. He deserved everything he got. I'm worried about you. Killing someone does something to you. I hope you never have to feel that."

Chuck just continued to stare.

"But I shouldn't have worried," Sarah said. "After all, you're Chuck. The honest truth is I couldn't be more proud. Do you know why?"

Chuck just shook his head.

"Today proved it," Sarah said softly. "The intersect didn't work when you were in danger in front of that house in Vegas today. But think about it -- when you thought you were protecting me, it did. I think that tells us where your priorities are. I can't say that I'm surprised. I always knew where your priorities are."

"Come on, Sarah," Chuck said. "You always knew how I feel about you."

Sarah's eyes sparkled. "I know," she agreed. "I've always known. But it feels great to be reminded every once in a while. It's funny. There was a time when watching a fight like that would have really turned me on."

Chuck smiled for the first time. "You mean that you're not turned on?" he asked.

"You know that I am," Sarah said. "It's just not because of the fight."

"It sounds like you're gloating," Chuck said.

"Maybe," Sarah said. "I feel like I was just rescued by my White Knight. Of course you realize that when a knight rescues a damsel in distress, the damsel is supposed to give him a reward?"

Chuck grinned. "This is starting to sound a lot like a family tradition," he said. "Do you want to go upstairs?"

Sarah smiled and shook her head. "That would take to long," she said. "The reward is supposed to be immediate. Now that you can control that thing, let's see what it can do."

"Okay," Chuck said with a huge grin. "Now I'm a little confused. Which one of us is getting the reward?"

Sarah's face showed the blush that was quickly rising from her neck. "I know," she said with a laugh. "I was really hoping that you wouldn't call me on that one."

"Sarah," Chuck said. "You really want to use the intersect – for sex?"

"It's training," Sarah insisted. "After all, we have to practice controlling that thing. Now I have a new job. I'm actually very excited about it."

Chuck looked at Sarah with a confused air. "Job?" he asked.

"Yup," Sarah said with a grin. "Now I'm intersect fuel."

**End of Chapter**


	23. The Center of the Known Universe

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Sarah puts her foot down. The only problem is that she is on cloud nine – so her foot can't reach the ground._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Center of the Known Universe**

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

General Beckman had set up a three way teleconference to discuss the day's events and how to proceed. She was on one side of the screen and the CIA Psych team was on the other. Casey was picking up Devon from his shift and was unable to attend. And, of course, West was still in bed.

"Okay, folks," Beckman said firmly. "Convince me that we have a reasonable explanation for why the intersect was so effective against Agent West – and so ineffective against our test team in Vegas."

"Umm, ma'am," one of the men said. "Should we be discussing this? There is someone present who is not cleared for this level of classified information."

General Beckman's disposition was well known. So it surprised everyone when she laughed out loud. "Are you talking about Kate Bartowski?" she asked. "Agent Bartowski hasn't seen his daughter in two weeks. I think we can allow him to hold her while we discuss this. I would put her under oath – but she can't hold up her right hand yet. Mrs. Bartowski – will you please instruct your daughter not to repeat any of the classified information that she hears today?"

Sarah beamed. "Yes, ma'am," she said. "I'll explain to her that it would be a felony. Then in about fifteen years, I'll explain to her what a felony is."

"Good," Beckman said. "Why don't we just get on with it?"

"Yes, ma'am," one of the white coats on the other side of the screen replied. "It actually does make perfect sense once you know the answer."

Beckman's good mood was apparently gone as fast as it had come. "Why don't you tell us the answer," she said sarcastically. "Before I forget what the question was."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Agents – particularly male agents -- are famous for being very narcissistic. They typically see themselves as the center of their universe. I think that we just witnessed that in Agent West. He couldn't believe that a woman would turn him down. It's actually one of the characteristics that allow them to survive. They have amazing self defense capabilities – because they love themselves. All of our modeling was predicated on that personality trait. It's fairly obvious that is not true of Mr. Bartowski. Something else is the center of his universe."

Even though Beckman already knew the answer, she asked the question anyway. "And what is that?" she asked.

"His wife," the man replied. "It's pretty clear that he feels his wife is the most important thing in his life. When he and his partner were in danger in Vegas, the intersect didn't care. Mrs. Bartowski is the center of his universe. The intersect is geared to protect her. When he perceived that she was threatened, the intersect became devastating."

Sarah couldn't keep the silly grin off her face. Not that she was even trying to hide it. Why would she? It was all she could do to not make a fist pump. It wasn't really a romantic moment – it actually sounded a little clinical. And it really only validated what she already knew. But wow – just… just… wow. She could have floated out of that room. She had to fight hard to resist the temptation to run over and throw her arms around him.

Elise was sitting next to Sarah – and couldn't resist taking a shot. After all, she still needed to figure out a way to get some revenge for that Ellie seduction deal. "Damn," she said so that only Sarah could hear. "Gloat much?"

Sarah quickly glanced at Elise to see if she was kidding. Not that it really mattered – nothing was going to make a dent in this glow. But it was good that Elise was grinning. So she flashed a grin back in Elise's direction.

"It would be reasonable," the man continued. "To believe that his daughter being threatened would generate the same protective reaction – but we have no evidence to prove that."

Chuck listened to this in silence. Truth be told, he was a little embarrassed. He knew that Sarah didn't like to talk about their personal life in front of the general. But he finally spoke up. "I can see where this is going," he said. "And we need to figure something else out. I'm just not comfortable putting Sarah in danger."

Sarah turned to face Chuck so he could see her silly grin. "I'm sorry, Agent Bartowski," she said. "But this is not your call. I'm the team lead. I actually agree with your judgment about not endangering the team. I completely admire your motives. And it goes without saying that I love you very much. I just disagree with your conclusion. That's why you're not leaving his house on a mission – ever again – without me."

Chuck just looked confused. Who was this person who just told him that she loved him – in the middle of a briefing – in front of General Beckman?

Sarah couldn't help but grin at the look of pure bewilderment on Chuck's face. "Today's events proved one thing conclusively," she said. "The safest place that I'll ever be is when you're standing beside me. And you're only really safe when I'm standing beside you. That's when the intersect will be effective. And, yes, I'll freely admit – personally that's what I want as well. But this is also a professional judgment. So when you go back to Vegas – or anyplace else when you really get down to it -- I'll be going with you."

Chuck knew that tone. He also knew that it was pointless to argue. But he couldn't help but give it one last attempt. "Sarah," he said. "Be reasonable. You're the main one that he's after."

Beckman stayed quiet during their exchange. Truth be told, she was enjoying it. And Sarah had just come to the same conclusion that she had. Sarah was right. She was clearly the missing link. But the team needed to know something. "He's right about that, Sarah," she said softly. "In the Bryce Larkin video, Colson went on for five minutes describing all of his plans for you. I'll not offend you with any details – but it was sick. Some of his rant had a sexual overtone – but mostly it was just pure evil. If he captures you…"

Even though Sarah was addressing Beckman – she never took her eyes off Chuck. "I know that he's right, ma'am," she said. "And that's why he'd better stop arguing with me and use all that energy coming up with a plan that exploits Colson's desires."

Chuck locked eyes with Sarah. There was a sparkle there that he hadn't seen in a long time. And he had to admit – a cocky, gloating Sarah was very, very sexy. Or was it that a very sexy Sarah was cocky and gloating? He'd have to think on that one.

**Home Base – The Safe Room:**

Janice clearly wouldn't look at Chuck during the conference. As a matter of fact, she wasn't really looking at anybody. But after a while, Beckman called a break. For a couple of reasons – she wanted to get rid of the doctors. She also wanted to give the team some time to come up with a plan. And she knew full well what that meant – Chuck would come up with the plan – and the others would try and poke holes in it.

Chuck knew full well that he had to fix things with Janice. So as soon as the meeting broke up, he grabbed her hand and, more or less, dragged her into the Safe Room.

Of course, Janice wouldn't meet his eye. So Chuck grabbed both of her hands. "I'm sorry," he said.

Finally Janice looked at him. Her eyes were quickly filling with tears. "It's okay, Chuck," Janice said. "I understand. I let you down."

Chuck wrapped his arms around her. "I was such an ass up there," he said. "I was freaked and I lashed out at the first person I could. I can blame the intersect for that all I want – but the fact is that I took my very best friend -- someone that I love very much -- and hurt her. That's not okay. It's most definitely not okay."

Janice just buried her face into Chuck's chest and let him hold her.

"I know that you're probably really pissed at me," Chuck said into the top of Janice's head. "I don't blame you. But I'm really, really sorry. I hope you can forgive me sometime soon."

"I could never be pissed at you," Janice said. Although, with her face buried in his chest, he had a hard time understanding her.

Chuck just smiled. "I know," he said. "I was hoping you would say that."

Of course, Chuck couldn't see her face. But he could feel her laughing. "You're my best friend too," she said. "Don't tell Sarah. You know how competitive she is."

"You're not going to ask me to be your maid of honor," Chuck teased. "That would be awkward – especially if the president is there."

Janice finally pulled away from Chuck. "Maybe not maid of honor," she said with a smile. "That would be hard to explain to Sarah. But there is something I've been wanting to talk to you about. Casey wants you to be his best man. And that is an honor. But I was sort of hoping that you would walk me down the aisle and give me away. We decided that we would let you choose. I know that you've known Casey longer…"

"I'll walk down the aisle with you," Chuck said. "But I'm not giving you away."

"Casey can't have everything," he continued in response to Janice's confused look. "I'm keeping what we have."

"Stop," Janice said. "No matter how hard you try with all of this mushy stuff – you're not getting me to cry again today."

Chuck just grinned. "Wanna bet?" he asked.

Janice laughed. "Yup," she said. "I've cried way too much already. Everybody is going to think I'm a sissy. Besides, I have a secret weapon."

"What's that?" Chuck asked.

"I can just imagine the reception," Janice laughed. "I can see it in my mind. You have to dance with my mom."

"Oh crap," Chuck said.

"Look on the bright side," Janice said. "I'm pretty sure that you're going to nail the maid of honor. I mean, you might not even have to get her drunk first. That's got to be a fairly common wedding fantasy, right?"

**Home Base – Dining Room:**

Elise knew that she didn't have time to pay everybody back for the attempted practical joke – not yet. And Sarah was going to be a challenge. Especially if she couldn't talk Chuck into helping. But Ellie, on the other hand – she didn't need Chuck's help for Ellie. Elise could see her – sitting alone on the sofa, watching TV. So Elise walked up behind her so that she could whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry," Elise said. "Things have been a little hectic. But I haven't forgotten about you."

Ellie turned as much as she could to look at Elise. "Forgotten?" she asked.

"About you wanting to have a chance to seduce someone," Elise said. "You still do, don't you?"

Suddenly Ellie remembered. She really didn't know if Sarah was still going through with that – or not. But she didn't want to ruin it. "Umm, sure," she said. "Of course."

"Good," Elise said softly. "Because I forget to tell you. Remember that guy at the bar – Andy?"

Ellie just nodded.

"Don't tell Janice," Elise said. "But he asked about you. As a matter of fact, you're all he wanted to talk about. As soon as my mission is over, I'll set something up. You'd like that, right?"

Ellie wasn't completely comfortable. But that was Casey's friend. Surely Janice would explain the situation to him. He wouldn't expect anything for real. So it wouldn't hurt to go along. "Sure," she said.

"Great," Elise said. "He wants us both together."

"Huh?"

Elise had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "You and me," Elise said in a matter of fact tone. "Surely Janice told you that it is a mark's most common fantasy."

Ellie was too stunned to speak.

"Wait," Elise said thoughtfully. "That's right -- you and I have never worked together. This isn't going to work."

Ellie breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"We'll have to get together and practice some moves," Elise whispered into Ellie's ear as she ran her hand down and gently rubbed her arm. "After all, we have to be able to come across as experienced with each other. I don't have time right now – but when I get back from this mission…" Elise had no reason to hide the evil grin. She knew full well that Ellie would be looking at any place that she possibly could – except at her. And Elise could plainly see the blush quickly rising up Ellie's neck. _Target engaged and destroyed_. _Think about that for a couple of days._

Elise couldn't help giggling to herself as she walked away. _Sarah isn't the only one with reason to gloat_. _One down – two to go._

**Home Base – Communication Room:**

General Beckman wasted no time in getting right to the point -- as soon as she appeared on screen and saw that everybody was there. "Okay, Chuck," she said. "What did you come up with?"

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck said. "I just want to say that this plan was developed under protest. I'm still not happy about involving Sarah."

"Duly noted," Beckman said curtly. "I assume that means the intersect has calculated that Sarah needs to be involved."

"Well, ma'am," Chuck said with a look that was half grin and half grimace. "Actually Sarah has calculated that she needs to be involved. As long as that's true, we may as well use her effectively."

Of course by now, Beckman knew that she couldn't get frustrated with Chuck's speaking style. She knew that he would get to the point – eventually. So she put as much smile on her face as she could. "How do you propose that we do that?" she asked.

"Colson is being very cautious," Chuck said. "He clearly sent a decoy to meet with us to see if we would try something. We need to do something to draw him out. Perhaps even make a mistake."

"Okay, Chuck," Beckman said. "And exactly how would we do that?" After all, even patience has its limits.

Chuck simply grinned. "Colson is clearly obsessed with Sarah," he said. "You don't need an intersect to figure that one out. And, I suppose, he needs to get in line on that one. But when Elise and I report back we need to show him something that will drive him crazy. I'll need your plane in L.A. as soon as possible – preferably with you in it… Oh, and we'll need a male agent who Colson would identify as an agent – but is not associated with our team. Agent West would be perfect. But can we trust him? I assume he'll be well enough to participate in a few days."

General Beckman just shook her head. "Okay, Chuck," she said. "As usual with one of your plans – I'm completely confused. Care to explain this a little more clearly? Why do you need my plane? And what about Agent West?"

"He would be very critical," Chuck said. "No offense, ma'am – but I'd like to have him evaluated."

"Do you want me to get the psych team to talk to him?" Beckman asked, still obviously confused.

"No ma'am," Chuck said. "Again, no offense – but I'm not all that impressed with them. I would like our expert to talk to him."

"Your expert?" Beckman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck said. "Agent Walters will spend the afternoon with him. I trust her judgment."

"But…" Beckman trailed off. She really didn't know what question to ask. "Trust him for what?" she finally asked.

"One thing that Colson surely knows about Sarah," Chuck said as he grinned at his wife. "Is that she falls for the guys that she works with. It's in her field fitness report. We need to play on that. He'll be expecting it."

"Okay," Beckman said slowly.

"I've always thought that Sarah could be a model," Chuck said. "It's time to test that theory. We need to take some sexy pictures of her to show Colson – getting friendly with Agent West."

**End of Chapter**


	24. Four Queens

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Chuck has four main women in his life - his sister, partner, best friend, and wife. He loves them all. And they all love him. But currently, none of them are particularly happy with him. Can he fix it? Probably – after all, he is Chuck._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Four Queens**

**Home Base – Dining Room:**

As soon as the meeting broke up, Chuck was a very popular guy. There were four women waiting in line to speak to him. Well, it was more a circle than a line. And none of them were at all happy.

"Ladies," Chuck said as calmly as he could. "I can't hear you when all four of you are talking at once."

Naturally, they all resumed talking at once again.

Chuck just held up his hands. "Wait," he said with a laugh. "Okay, Elise… you go first."

"Why me?" Elise grumbled. "I don't want to have to be in the same room with that jerk – much less talk to him."

"Consider yourself lucky," Sarah said as she shot daggers in Chuck's direction. "He wants you to talk to him. He wants me to date him."

Chuck tried to catch Sarah's eye and calm her down – but she was having none of it. "I'm not asking anybody to date him," he said with a smile. "I just need to know that we can trust him to not rat us out to Colson. That is going to be a life or death type judgment call. Come on, Elise. You're the best at reading people."

Elise sighed. "There is only one way to do that quickly,' she said. "I'll have to go in there and flirt with him."

"Maybe," Chuck said. "I'll leave that to your judgment. But if we can't absolutely trust West - we'll have to quickly find someone else. We really need you to do this."

"Fine," Elise moaned as she stomped off. "Let's get this over with."

"Ellie," Chuck said. "I know that you want to look at my chest. I'll meet you in my bedroom in ten minutes. I have to talk to Janice first."

Ellie was clearly not happy. "Ten minutes," she said firmly as she glanced at her watch and walked away. "Not a second longer."

Chuck smiled – or was it a grimace? Either way. "Okay, Janice," he said. "Your turn."

Janice got directly in Chuck's face – and directly to the point. "This is bullshit," she said angrily. "How could you do this to me?"

"Huh?"

"You and Sarah are going off on an exciting, dangerous mission," Janice said incredulously. "And you expect me to stay home - and baby-sit? No way."

Chuck wanted to laugh. He really did. But he could see the fire in Janice's eyes - and he knew that he's better tread lightly. "Is that what you think?" he asked gently. "That we're asking you to baby-sit?"

Janice put her hands on her hips defiantly. "Well," she demanded. "Aren't you?"

It was Sarah that actually answered. "We're not asking you to baby-sit, sweetie," she said. "We're asking you to protect the most important person in our lives."

"That's right," Chuck added. "And you're the one person in the world that we would trust Kate with in this situation. We need to know that you're here with her. Otherwise, we can't do this. Your assignment is key. The entire mission depends on us knowing that Kate is safe."

Janice noticeably softened her rancor. "Come on," she said. "I can't watch Kate by myself. I can barely feed her. Who's going to change her diapers?"

Chuck just laughed. "That would be you," he said. "Ellie will be by sometimes. Oh, and Casey will be here."

"Great," Janice sighed. "That's all I need. Who's going to watch Casey?"

"We have a couple of days before we have to leave," Sarah said. "I'll show you how to give Kate her bath."

"Bath?" Janice said in shock. "Oh, hell no."

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

"It's about time," Ellie growled as soon as Chuck closed the bedroom door.

"Sorry," Chuck said. "I had to deal with some things. Do you want me to take my shirt off?"

"Whatever," Ellie growled.

Chuck looked at Ellie in surprise. "I thought that you wanted to look at my chest," he said.

"Chuck," Ellie said disgustedly. "That happened over twenty-four hours ago. If you had any broken ribs, you wouldn't be walking around. Are you in any pain?"

Now Chuck was totally confused. "Not really," he said slowly. "It's a little sore – but not nearly as bad as it was yesterday. If you don't want to see my chest, then what do you want to see me about?"

"About this," Ellie growled… and then she reached back and kicked Chuck – directly in the shin.

Chuck had forgotten how painful Ellie kicking him could be. After all, it had been a while. It used to be her regular 'punishment' when they were kids. But she hadn't done it… well, since they were teenagers. "Sonofabitch," Chuck yelled as he hopped on one leg to the bed and sat down. As he sat rubbing his bruised chin he looked up at Ellie. "That hurt. What did you do that for?"

"You," Ellie growled. "You and your stupid plan to get back at Elise. She is setting up a threesome for me and her and some guy. Now what do I do?"

It took a second for what Ellie was saying to register. After all, his shin was still smarting like hell. Then, he starting laughing.

Chuck was laughing so hard that he didn't see Ellie reach back and throw a kick at this other shin. Fortunately, her rage caused her to barely miss. "You think that's funny?" she asked accusingly. "She wants us to get together and practice. I'm not even sure what in the hell that means."

Chuck was trying to control his laughing to calm Ellie down. After all, getting kicked in the shins hurts like hell. "Ellie," he was finally able to choke out. "She knows."

"She knows?" Ellie asked, still in a rage. "She knows what?"

"She knows that you were messing with her," Chuck was finally able to say. "She is just messing with you back."

It took a moment for what Chuck was saying to penetrate Ellie's rage. "What?" she was finally able to ask.

"Elise was really depressed in Vegas," Chuck said. "She was afraid that she had messed you up. So I told her about what you and Janice were doing. She is clearly getting revenge."

Finally, the light bulb went on. The look on Ellie's face turned devious. "That conniving bitch," she said with an evil grin. "So, that's the way she wants to play it, huh?"

Chuck started laughing again. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

Ellie could feel the redness creep up her neck. "I'm not sure yet," she said. "But I know one thing... it's on. It is so on."

**Las Vegas – Palace Station Hotel and Casino:**

Adam Colson sat waiting on his opponent to call his all-in or fold. Colson could see in the man's eyes that he had what he thought was a winning hand. But Colson knew that nothing was going to beat the pair of Queens that he held. Especially since there was another Queen sitting on the table. And really, the guy had no choice. They had steadily raised each other to the point where the pot was so big that they were both practically all in anyway.

Colson had taken to playing Hold-em as a way to relax. It was a game where the intersect wasn't much of an advantage. Not with the cards anyway. And Colson surely didn't need the money. But it was good practice. After all, one of the abilities of the intersect was to read and influence people. And that was perfect for poker.

And Colson was finding that he really needed to relax. The headaches that he had been experiencing were becoming more frequent and even more severe. And they didn't show any signs of ending any time soon. After all, he had problems. His men were complaining about the move. Sure, this wasn't nearly as nice as the hotels on the strip. But it had its advantages. For one thing, it was much less – watched. And the men were simply going to have to suck it up. After all, the strip – with it's plethora of beautiful women - was only a couple of miles away.

Then there was that new couple. Colson knew full well that the CIA was using all of their resources to catch him – especially with the taunting videos he had been sending them. So he needed to be on top of his game to stay ahead of them. He couldn't afford to relax for a single second.

He was pretty confident in Walters. After all, she was a known Fulcrum Agent. Her story checked out. She wasn't thought of seriously enough as an agent to be considered a serious threat. And, almost as important, she was stunning. He always had a thing for redheads anyway. She might not be all that useful – but she sure would look good doing it.

But what to do about this Carmichael guy? There wasn't a damn thing on him in the intersect. That alone had Colson spooked. The men didn't suspect him of anything – but they were easily fooled. So, what to do? The safest thing would be just to have him killed. But that would require some planning. After all, Walters had shown some attraction to him. Simply killing him might drive her away. That wouldn't do. Her CIA credentials – and her proclivity between the sheets – was going to come in very handy - very handy indeed. After all, Sarah Walker was still out there someplace. Maybe the best thing would be to separate them. Yes, that might just work.

Colson smiled when the man finally called. The look on his face when he saw the pocket Queens was simply priceless. Especially when the river produced the forth Queen. Of course, Colson didn't allow himself to show any emotion. But he was happy – very happy. After all, he was on a roll. Sarah Walker had better get ready for an experience – like no other.

**Home Base – Guest Room:**

Elise opened the door to West's room without knocking. After all, the bastard didn't deserve that consideration. She had decided against flirting with him – for a couple of reasons, really. First, he would see through it. After all, the man was trained. But the second reason was even better. Elise knew that she couldn't hold her nose enough to pull it off.

Fortunately, West didn't give her an opportunity anyway. "What do you want?" he asked harshly without even looking at her.

"I'm just checking to see if you need anything," Elise said.

"I see," West said. "And how did you draw that duty?"

"Chuck gave Janice and me a choice," Elise said. "One of us would come in here – and one of us would change Kate's messy diaper."

"Well," West said sarcastically. "It's nice to know that there are some things worse than talking to me."

"Not really," Elise said flatly. "Janice got first choice."

**Home Base – Chuck and Sarah's Bedroom:**

As soon as Ellie left the room, Sarah walked in right after her. Chuck could see the stream coming off the top of her head. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Lot's of things," Sarah said. "Do you really expect me to pose for sexy pictures – with Joe West? Are you crazy?"

"Sarah," Chuck said. "I was just…"

"You were getting back at me," Sarah interrupted. "Weren't you? You're pissed that I overruled you in the briefing and you're getting back at me. Admit it."

Chuck looked at Sarah for a long moment. He wanted to smile. But he knew this mood. And smiling would be the worst possible thing. "Sarah," he said. "I was…"

"You're pissed at me," Sarah hotly interrupted again. "And you're punishing me by making me go undercover with someone I can't stand. Really, Chuck – are you that petty?"

"Okay, Sarah," Chuck said as calmly as he could. "I know that you don't believe any of that. So why don't you tell me what is really wrong – so we can fix it together."

Sarah just stared at Chuck for a long moment. "I don't fall for the guys that I work with," she finally shouted. "That fitness report was completely unfair. You know that. It was to cover the brass's smelly butts when they thought that Bryce went rogue. I can't believe that you would bring that up in a briefing. Is that what you really think - that I've fallen for Joe West?"

Chuck knew that the worst possible thing was to laugh. Seriously. The – worst – possible – thing. Sarah was really, really pissed. And that's why he couldn't stop laughing. He knew that if he didn't say something soon, that Sarah was going to stomp out of the room – so he grabbed her wrist. "I'm sorry," he was finally able to squeak out. "You know that I don't think that."

"You don't?" Sarah asked skeptically. "It sure as hell sounds like it."

"Come on, Sarah," Chuck said as he was finally able to control his breathing. "I didn't say I believe it. I said that Colson would believe it. It's in your fitness report. He'll have memorized every detail about you. If you're serious about coming to Vegas, we'll have to make it believable to him."

Sarah took a deep breath. Now, instead of angry – she just looked vulnerable. "So," she said softly without looking up. "Do you believe it? You would have to know how much that would hurt me."

"Come here," Chuck said as he pulled Sarah into an embrace. "You know that I would never intentionally hurt you. Of course that fitness report was unfair. I don't have any worries about you working with a man. You've managed to keep your hands off of Casey for the past three years. I don't see that changing anytime soon – do you?"

Sarah just shook her head.

"Come on," Chuck said with a grin. "This is me. Don't you think I know what makes you tick? Only someone who didn't know you would believe that fitness report. If you…"

Chuck was interrupted by Sarah's mouth covering his. "I'm sorry," she whispered as the kiss broke. "I went a little nuts. I don't have any excuse."

"You don't need an excuse," Chuck said as he pulled her into his arms even tighter. "You never need an excuse. You're Sarah. That's all the excuse you'll ever need."

"Wow," Sarah said with a beaming smile. "Nice save. You really know how to sweet talk a girl."

"I know," Chuck teased. "That was really smooth, wasn't it? I'm not sure where it's even coming from. I'm not that smooth."

Sarah giggled a little. "I think you're better at this than you think you are," she said.

Chuck kissed Sarah lightly. "Look," he said. "If you don't want to work with West, no one will blame you. We'll find someone else. But we'll have to move fast. I need you to understand something – if we use West - you'll have to spend at least one night with him as a couple. Not only that – we need to drive Colson crazy. Elise will need to show him a picture that looks like you necking with West in the back seat of a car without your shirt."

"I'm not being very professional," Sarah said. "Am I? As long as you're okay, I'm okay."

"I want to hear what Elise has to say before we decide," Chuck said. "And I want to have a little chat with him. But I'm certainly not worried about you and West. Talk about the classic last man on earth."

"You've got that right," Sarah said as she pulled Chuck into a long kiss. "Now, down to business. It's time that we worked on controlling the intersect again."

"Man," Chuck said with mock frustration. "Work, work, work. Is that all you think about?"

Sarah eyes flashed. "Yup," she said. "If we're going after Colson, we need you on the top of your game."

"Okay," Chuck said with a laugh. "It's just that – I don't think what you have in mind is going to intimidate him."

**End of Chapter**


	25. Cheesecake

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major characters deaths in this story._

_Chuck and Sarah each deal with a not so secret admirer. And there is still the matter of the sexy pictures for Colson._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Cheesecake**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah would have liked to have stayed in bed all afternoon. After all, Janice was on baby duty. She was practicing for her solo mission as surrogate mom. That was the title that Chuck made up on the spot. After all, surrogate mom sounded much better than baby-sitter. And Janice was already very sensitive to being called a baby-sitter. But Sarah knew that she had to get up. After all, there were only a couple of days left – and she had to show Janice how to give Kate her bath. She was actually looking forward to it. After all, they were pretty competitive. And, truth be told, she was hoping that Janice would have a hard time. After all, it had taken Sarah six weeks to make bath time anything but a complete disaster. And since Janice was already panicked – this could be fun.

It didn't help that Chuck was making those pathetic moon eyes at her. And the way he was kissing her. He knew that kissing was her weakness. She was an absolute sucker for that. _He knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to get me all hot and bothered when there is no time_. But there was really no choice. Duty called. So just before he got her to the point of no return, she finally pushed Chuck out of the bed. He was just finishing throwing on his jeans when there was a knock at the door.

Chuck's "come in," was so fast that Sarah had to scramble for the sheet to cover herself. _He did that on purpose. He knows I'm lying here naked_. _He is so asking for it today_. The glint in his eyes told her clearly that she was right.

But Sarah didn't have anything to worry about. Elise poked her head in the door very cautiously. It was almost as if she was afraid of what she might see. "Hey," she said. "Sorry to interrupt. But I just got done talking to Agent West."

Chuck wasted no time getting to the point. "Well," he said. "Come in and tell us what you think."

Elise sighed as she tentatively entered the bedroom. She clearly wasn't making eye contact with Sarah. Was she embarrassed that Sarah was naked? She was covered by the sheet. "He's loyal," she said. "I don't have any question about trusting him with Colson."

Chuck could look at Elise's face and tell there was something else. "And?" he asked expectantly.

Elise looked around the room uncomfortably. "He still has a thing for Sarah," she finally said. "He's convinced that she is attracted to him – that she's just protesting too much - she'll come around. She just feels guilty for a while because of Chuck. He is completely confident that he is going to get her in bed – and that she is going to be the one to do the asking."

Chuck couldn't help but grin. "Why would he think that?" he asked.

Elise didn't answer Chuck. She just turned to Sarah. "Did you ask him to kiss you?" she asked. "He says that you did - that you two had a hot and heavy make-out session."

"Right…" Chuck scoffed.

Sarah didn't answer right away. But the redness running up her neck spoke volumes.

Elise was starting to get a really bad feeling. "He said that you were clearly into it," she said softly. "He told me that it's just a matter of time – that he was sorry that he got rough the other night – but he was going to be patient. He said he'd be waiting when you couldn't fight it anymore. And when you finally came to him, he was going to make you admit it. He was going to make you crawl."

The grin quickly left Chuck's face as he stared at Sarah.

"I was dreaming," Sarah finally said. "I was dreaming that I was kissing Chuck. When I woke up…"

Now the color left Chuck's face. "Oh my God," he whispered. "It's true?"

Chuck literally ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Sarah called after him. "Sweetie, I was going to tell you," she yelled. But when she went to chase after him, she felt Elise grab her wrist. "Let me go," Sarah said firmly.

"No way," Elise said. She jerked Sarah's arm and flipped Sarah over her hip onto the bed.

Sarah was surprised by Elise's aggression – so much so that she lost track of where she was for a second. She just looked up in surprise at the flaring in Elise's nostrils.

"I don't have any hope of wining a fight with you," Elise said as she squared off into a defensive posture. "We both know that. But that's the nicest guy in the world that you just crushed. And he's also my partner. So let's go - right now – you and me. Let's see what the great Sarah Walker's got. That is if it wasn't all bullshit. After all, it was ten years ago. Then after you've get through me, you can go hump the new hotshot."

Sarah just looked at Elise in shock. "Sweetie, I'm not going to fight you," she said.

"Then you're going to get your ass kicked," Elise growled. "You know – I would have bet my life that you wouldn't ever betray Chuck. I guess you can never take the spy completely out of the girl."

When Sarah tried to stand up from the bed, Elise threw what would have been a devastating punch at her. Since the last thing that Sarah was expecting was for Elise to try and hit her she was barely able to duck it on pure instinct. She grabbed Elise's arm and used her own momentum to throw her over her hip. When Elise landed on the bed, Sarah quickly pounced on her, pinning her.

"Sweetie, cool down," Sarah said as she kept Elise pinned. "You've got it wrong. It was all a giant misunderstanding. Just give me a second to explain. Then, if you still want, you can kick my ass. But first I need to go find Chuck. I need your help in explaining this to him."

Elise tried to think rationally through her anger. _Maybe there is some explanation_. So she stopped struggling and just shook her head. "You really need to give him a minute," she said as calmly as she could. "I'll listen to your explanation – but this had better be good. Joe may be the most arrogant man that I've ever met – but when you get to know him, he's really not all that bad of a guy. And he genuinely believes that you have a thing for him."

Sarah cautiously allowed Elise off the bed. "Thank you," she said. "You would have won your bet. I would never betray Chuck. Sweetie, you know that. I understand that this sounds bad. But it was all innocent."

Elise sighed. "I hope so," she said. "Because, if not, I will kick your ass… I'll try anyway."

In spite of the tenseness of the situation, Sarah couldn't help the sad smile. "Sweetie," she whispered. "I thought that we agreed that you wouldn't fall in love with him."

Elise couldn't keep the twinkle out of her eye. "One of us needs to be," she said. "At this point, it's probably better that it be you. Besides Sarah, before you go talk to Chuck you really need to put on some clothes."

x-x-x-x-x

It was Elise who eventually came looking for Chuck. She found him in the workout room, lifting weights on one of the machines. One look at his face confirmed that he was incredibly upset. Elise really didn't know what to do – so she just sat on the machine next to him and started to work out herself.

Finally, Elise turned to Chuck. "You're not using that machine correctly," she said.

Chuck didn't respond. He just kept lifting.

"Chuck," Elise insisted. "You're using the wrong muscles. And you have way too much weight. You're just going to hurt yourself."

Chuck still didn't respond.

"Damn it, Chuck," Elise yelled. "Stop right now. You're hurt. I get it. You're pissed at her. That's okay. Maybe she has it coming. But don't injure yourself. That's just stupid."

Chuck stopped working the machine. But he didn't respond.

"What should I do?" Chuck finally asked.

Elise smiled and touched his arm. "If it was me, I'd shoot her," she said. "No, wait. Shooting her would wake up the baby. Maybe you should just dump her."

"Very funny."

"No really," Elise said. "Dump her. Cut her loose. You'd be a free man. You could go red."

There was just something in Elise's grin that broke the tension. Chuck couldn't help but smile. "Go red?" he asked. "You mean turn Republican? That's a little drastic – don't you think?"

Elise laughed. "Maybe," she said. But then she turned serious. "She's kind of panicked right now that you're mad at her."

"I am mad at her," Chuck said.

"I know," Elise said. "But, Chuck, Sarah told me the story. She was dreaming on the coach and when she woke up, West was kissing her. I believe her. She told me that she woke Beckman up at four in the morning after it happened and asked her to deal with him. They had a big fight about it. She wanted me to make sure that you knew that."

"That's not the issue," Chuck said. "I'm not worried that she was kissing West. That's silly."

"I know," Elise said. "Talk to her. Tell her how you feel. She'll understand. She feels horrible. She's scared to death."

Chuck just nodded.

Elise got up from her machine. "I'll send her down," she said. Elise walked to the door and stopped. She then took a deep breath and forced herself to face him. "I know that this is not ever going to happen," she said softly. "And I don't want things to be awkward between us. But I need to be honest with you – with myself as well. I wasn't talking about you turning Republican."

Chuck just smiled. "Come on, Elise," he said. "It's sweet that you're trying to protect me. But you don't really mean that. You're not in love with me. I'm not your type - remember?"

"You're right," Elise agreed with her own smile. "You're so not my type. I'm not even sure what being in love means. I just… I mean… I'm just saying… Look, I'll go get Sarah."

x-x-x-x-x

There was one thing that Andy Jefferies loved about living in Los Angeles. It was only a three hour drive to Las Vegas. And if there was one thing that Andy loved, it was Vegas. It was just his kind of place. Morals really didn't apply. He tried to make it there every couple of months for a few days.

Andy had quickly discovered something that allowed him to come to Vegas much more frequently. The hotels off the strip were a fraction of the price. Sure, they weren't as nice. But how much time did you spend in your room anyway? You could pass out in the room at the Palace Station just as easily as any of the rooms in the fancy strip hotels. Actually, Andy liked it better there anyway. It was far less touristy than the strip. The folks there really understood what Vegas was all about - that with enough money, you could buy anything. And if you were in the mood for some female companionship that you didn't have to pay for, the strip was a five minute ride away.

There was only one way to describe Andy's mood. He was on an incredible roll. He had been in the casino for a grand total of twenty minutes and was already up over three hundred. And it was easy to remember when this amazing winning streak started. It was the night that Elise chick showed up at his door looking for a favor. He really owed Casey a big one. She was incredible. Andy had never been with a woman that even approached being that hot before. And a redhead to boot. He had always had a thing for redheads. _Yup, I'm on a roll_.

Unfortunately, Andy's great run was about to come to a screeching halt. And the irony was – the very same thing that started the streak – was about to end it.

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah came down the stairs very cautiously. She found Chuck still in the workout room. In fact, he was still sitting at the same machine where Elise had left him. "Let's go into the safe room," she said.

"Why?" Chuck asked.

"Because," Sarah said. "It's secure. When you yell at me, the whole house won't hear you."

"Why do you think I'm going to yell at you?" Chuck asked.

"Because," Sarah whispered. "You're really pissed. I can see it in your face."

"I'm pissed," Chuck admitted. "But I'm not going to yell."

"Sweetie," Sarah said in a pleading voice. "You can yell if it would help. I have it coming. But please let me explain what really happened. Kate was fussy. She was missing you. She had been up a couple of times that night already. So I fell asleep on the couch listening for her to cry again. I had a dream that you had come back and was kissing me. When I woke up, West was in my face. I'm not sure how long he had been there – but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. I swear, that's all there is to it. I immediately went downstairs and called Beckman. I asked her to remove him – but she wouldn't. I didn't ask him to kiss me – and even if he thinks so, I was sleeping. I don't want him to kiss me. I know that you think he's the kind of guy that I'm attracted too. And maybe that was true once – but not anymore. Joe West is a joke. I have zero desire for him. Please believe me."

"I believe you," Chuck said.

"No you don't," Sarah said as the tears began to fill her eyes. "You're still pissed. I can see it in your face."

"I'm still pissed," Chuck said. "But not because I think you kissed West."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Because you don't trust me," Chuck said with his voice raised more than he really intended. "Why am I just hearing about this now? And from Elise? You were worried that I would think the worst. Admit it."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Yes, I didn't want to tell you. I'm sorry. But not because I didn't trust you. You're wrong about that."

"Then why?" Chuck asked.

"I was trying to protect you," Sarah cried. "I know that you have a lot on your plate right now. And the last thing you need is worrying about some jerk trying to get me into bed – especially when there is no way in hell it is ever going to happen. I told Beckman exactly that. And I'm sorry that you had to hear it the way that you did. I didn't think it was going to happen like that. I'm as surprised by Elise's story as you are. I thought West was just taking advantage of a situation. I'm stunned that he actually thinks I'm attracted to him. It's more than a little pathetic... Chuck, I was always going to tell you. I just wanted to pick a better time."

Chuck opened his arms as an invitation – one that Sarah quickly accepted. "Okay," he said with a smile. "New family tradition. Whenever someone kisses you - you tell me immediately. Agreed?"

Sarah buried her head into Chuck's chest for a long moment. "Agreed," she finally said. "As long as it works both ways."

Chuck was confused. "Both ways?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

"What are we going to do about Elise?" Sarah asked. "She just threatened to kick my ass."

Chuck couldn't help but smile. "Elise threatened you?" he asked in amazement.

"She took a big swing at me," Sarah said. "I was lucky she didn't connect. She obviously has some feelings for you that are not completely professional."

Chuck still couldn't believe it. "Elise wanted to fight you?" he asked incredulously. "You're her hero. She worships you."

Sarah smiled. "I'm glad that you think that's funny," she said sarcastically.

"What are we going to do?" Chuck asked. "We have to go back to Vegas tomorrow. Can we pull this off?"

"We have no choice," Sarah said. "This may be our only chance to catch Colson. Kate isn't safe with him out there someplace. We'll have to trust each other."

"I trust you," Chuck said. "You know that I do. Sarah, I understand that there was a time when hearing that story would have freaked me out. But I'm past that. I have been for a while. Today was never about me not trusting you. I completely trust you."

Sarah's smile turned into a huge grin. "I know that you do," she said. "And I trust you right back. I'm very, very sorry that I didn't tell you about West. You're right. My reason wasn't good enough."

"I'll talk to Elise," Chuck said with a grin. "She is just being protective. It's not romantic. She just falls for the guys that she works with."

That got them both laughing. "And I'll talk to West," Sarah finally said. "There must be some way to make him understand. It's not romantic with him either. He's just looking to get laid."

Chuck suddenly stopped laughing. "Wait a minute," he said.

Sarah studied Chuck's face intently. "Okay," she said with a grin. "What's going on inside that brain of yours now?"

"Oh my God," Chuck said with his own grin. "Sarah, this might just work out. I think there has been a slight change in plans."

x-x-x-x-x

They were at the airport - at the spot where Beckman's plane would be taxiing in about an hour. Joe West was noticeably limping. But he was clearly otherwise looking forward to what was about to happen.

Elise had already taken a few pictures of Joe and Sarah standing by the fence talking. When she was finished, Chuck took Sarah by the hand and led her a few steps away. It was so dark that after a few feet, they were only vague shadows.

Chuck stopped and grabbed her other hand. "I know that you don't want to do this," he said. "But it's important."

"I know," Sarah sighed. "I'll manage. How far should I go?"

"As far as you can," Chuck said softly. "The more skin we can show Colson, the more it will drive him crazy. But it has to be believable."

"Fine," Sarah said. "I guess it won't be the first time I've had my picture taken without some clothes. Are you sure you're going to be okay with this?"

"You know that I don't like this any more than you do," Chuck said. "But it has to be done."

"I'll play how far to go by ear," Sarah said. Then she walked over to Elise. "Do you have the night vision lens?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Elise asked. "I can see in that back seat like it was daylight. I'll be able to see every expression on your face. So you'll need to really sell it."

"I'll do my best," Sarah said with a smile. "I don't want you getting mad and kicking my ass."

Even in the dark, Sarah could plainly see the blush traveling up Elise's neck – but she didn't respond.

"Okay," Sarah sighed. "I guess it's time to shoot some cheesecake. Let's do this before I lose my nerve." She climbed into the back seat where he was already waiting.

"What do you want to do first?" he asked tentatively. "I'm not used to being watched."

"We're professionals," Sarah said firmly. "This is an assignment - nothing more. Let's neck for a minute and see where it leads."

But when Sarah touched her lips to his, it wasn't very long at all before his trepidation at being watched faded. She felt his tongue pass her lips. Quickly the kissing became passionate. Their tongues danced for a long moment.

Sarah broke the kiss. "Take off my shirt," she said to him. She really didn't need to ask him twice. Sarah lifted her arms as he slowly lifted her shirt over her head and dropped it onto the seat.

He paused for a moment to admire her. She was incredible – sitting there in her lacy bra that didn't really hide anything. It was perhaps the sexiest sight he had ever seen. Even in the darkness, he could clearly see the outline of her breasts. Sarah's body had apparently betrayed her. After all of that professional talk - one look revealed how excited she truly was. So he smiled knowingly at her as he resumed the passionate necking. "I knew it," he said. "All this talk about it being an assignment - you're not fooling me. You're really into this. Admit it."

Sarah didn't answer for a second as she felt his hand side under her bra. "Please don't tell anybody," she whispered as soon as the latest kiss broke. "I'm trying to be professional here – but I'm on fire. I can't help it. I love kissing. It has always been my weakness."

"How far do you want to go?" he asked softly as he tentatively slid his other hand into the waistband of her slacks. "They are watching us, you know? We could go someplace more private and finish this."

Even though the hand that was moving into her pants was out of range of the camera – and therefore out of scope for the assignment, Sarah shifted her hips to give him a better angle. "I'll go as far as you want," she whispered as she pressed her mouth to his again. "Maybe we should give him a real show. I don't even care if he's watching anymore."

But he just smiled knowingly at her as he stopped moving his hand. "Not good enough," he said. "I want you to admit how turned on you are. I want to hear you tell me how much you want this – how much you want… me."

Sarah just looked at him for a long moment. "Okay," she said as she took a deep breath and nodded her head. "You win. Yes – I want you. I'll do anything to have you. I surrender. Is that good enough?" Then she put her hand behind his head and pressed his mouth to hers.

But as soon as the lengthy kiss broke, Chuck just smiled and gently kissed her again. "I love kissing you too," he said. "But I think that's far enough. Colson is going to go nuts as it is. I bet Agent Carmichael becomes his new hero. Seducing the great Sarah Walker in only two days."

"Seducing?" Sarah asked sheepishly. "You're making me sound like a slut. I thought we were just supposed to be making our partners jealous. Second base is not seducing."

"Second base?" Chuck asked incredulously. "My hand is in your pants."

"Prove it," Sarah said with her own grin. "All Colson is going to see…"

"But I'll be the one telling him the story," Chuck interrupted with a laugh. "Besides, do you really want to sit here and argue? I'd really like to pick this up again as soon as we get home in bed."

"Okay," Sarah whispered as she grabbed her shirt. "But let's hurry, sweetie. I really am on fire."

"I know," Chuck whispered back. "Me too. I'm thinking that we may have just discovered a new family tradition."

x-x-x-x-x

_A/N: Okay, admit it. You thought it was West in the car, didn't you?_

x-x-x-x-x


	26. Two Pair

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major characters deaths in this story._

_Maybe Joe West isn't such a bad guy after all… or is he? Chuck and Sarah play a game of chicken._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Two Pair**

x-x-x-x-x

Elise put on her most serious face. "For the very last time," she said firmly as she grunted against the weight of the workout machine she was on. "You can ask until you're blue in the face. I'm not letting you see the pictures. Deal with it." But the fact was – Elise was not nearly as annoyed as she pretended to be. After all, it was nice to have someone to talk too. Maybe Joe West wasn't so bad of a guy after all – assuming you could get past the dripping arrogance thing, of course. And she had to admit – she would have been curious to see the pictures too. Maybe not for the same reason he was – but still.

"Okay," Joe grumbled as he worked his own machine. "But this is no way to start a partnership."

"You think that's what a partner does?" Elise asked incredulously. Gives you voyeur shots of another agent's boobs?"

That sure got his attention. "Did you really see her boobs?" he asked. "I couldn't see anything. It was too dark."

Elise gave him a dirty look. "I'm not telling you," she said flatly. "Sarah's my partner too, you know."

"But wait a minute," Joe said with a boyish grin. "Colson, the evil perv that we're gunning for, is going to see them, right? Seems only fair that I see every piece of information that's related to the mission that I'm about to risk my life for."

"Nice try," Elise said. "I'll tell you what. Give me one scenario where you having seen those pictures would be a benefit to the mission… and I'll show them to you."

Joe racked his brain trying to think of a possible scenario. But he couldn't think of anything. Maybe he could confuse the issue. "I don't think that's the point," he said. "Is it? I mean she obviously doesn't have a problem posing for pictures. She must want people to see them."

Elise smiled at the lameness of his argument. "Wow," she said. "Is that all you can come up with?"

Joe decided to go for broke. Logic was failing him. Maybe a little sweet talk - it was a long shot but… What else did he have? "Besides," he said as sexily as he could. "I was hoping that we could be special partners."

"Oh my God," Elise laughed. "You have got to be kidding."

"What?" Joe asked.

"Which did think you were going to charm me out of with that line?" Elise asked while still laughing. "The pictures? Or my panties? Special partners, Agent West? Did you really think I was going to fall for that?"

"Hey," Joe said with his own laugh. "Okay. Yes, I know that it was a long shot… but I actually wouldn't mind both."

Elise tried to control her laughing. "It was a very long shot," she finally was able to choke out.

"I know," Joe laughed. "I was desperate. It was worth a shot. Admit it. I'm not such a bad guy."

"Okay," Elise said with her eyes sparkling. "I'll admit - when you tone down the arrogance about twenty notches, I can stand to be in the same room with you. But I'm still keeping the pictures… and my panties… to myself."

Joe seemed to consider that – for a moment. "So," he said thoughtfully. "Can I ask you a serious question? What does she see in him anyway? He doesn't seem her type at all."

"You mean Chuck and Sarah?" Elise asked.

Joe just nodded.

Elise looked at him for a long while. At first she was trying to judge if he was really serious – or if it was just another play. But a funny thing happened. All she could think about was how pretty his eyes were. And she knew that if she continued staring, he would get the wrong idea – but she couldn't help it. Finally she judged that he was – serious, that is. "I'll be damned if I know," Elise said with a grin. "I'm not sure I can explain it. There is just something special that she sees in him. He's not like the other guys she's ever been around. He's nice… honest… loyal. What you see is what you get. He's not always playing a line."

"Ouch," Joe said with a short laugh. "Meaning he's the opposite of me. That's what you're really saying right?"

"Okay," Elise said. "Now that you mention it…"

"Is that what you see in him too?" Joe asked softly.

"Come on, Elise," Joe continued without waiting for her response. "Don't try any denials. As long as we're going to try honesty… It doesn't take a genius to see the way you've been looking at him. Don't expect honesty if you're not willing to give it."

Elise looked at him for a long moment with a new respect. He was more perceptive than she had given him credit for. _Or was it that obvious_? "This discussion is strictly classified," she finally said. "Agreed?"

Joe nodded. "Of course," he replied.

"Okay," Elise said with a sigh. "Yes… I'll admit. I've wondered what it would be like to be in her place… more than I probably should. But I know that it's never going to happen. For one thing, she is more than just my good friend. She is my professional hero. She has saved my life on more than one occasion. I could never hurt her. For another, he's not interested. He would die before he hurt her. And even that pales in comparison to how she feels about him. If you had bothered to talk to her for five minutes and actually listened to her, you could have saved yourself a beating. They really have something that's hard to believe. It's really sort of touching. They are soul mates. There is no one that is ever going to come between them."

"You could have maybe told me that a couple of days ago," Joe said with a grin. "The information would have been a lot more useful then. I'm still sore where she kicked me - not to mention the fact that my knee is twice the size that it should be."

"Not to mention that you shaved your head because you thought it would turn her on." Elise teased.

"Not to mention that I shaved my head," Joe replied with a sigh. "I'm getting Agent Beckman back for that, by the way. That was just wrong."

Elise laughed. She had to admit – she was having a good time. "Even if I had told you," she quickly said. "You wouldn't have listened. Let's face it. Your ego was telling you something different. You really got off easy. When did you start believing?"

"In the car tonight coming back here," Joe said. "You could have cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. They couldn't get into that bedroom fast enough. You must have seen one hot scene in the back seat of that car. Is that why you're working that machine so hard?"

Elise couldn't help the redness that quickly rose up her neck.

"I thought so," Joe said softly. "You want honest? Here it is. Straight up. I think you're sexy beyond belief. We're both on the edge. Why don't we go upstairs and help each other out?"

Even though Elise was on the alert for a come-on of some kind, the frankness surprised her. "Wow," she said. "Well, that's honest. That's for sure."

"You're not giving me any choice," Joe said with a smile. "None of my smooth lines are working. You're shooting them all down. So, what about it? I promise you a good time. No strings."

The fact that Elise was even remotely considering it was a testament to how worked up she was. He was absolutely right. It had been an incredibly hot scene… one that she couldn't get out of her head. And, she had to admit, Joe West was one good looking dude – especially with the shaved head. There was probably some irony in there someplace that a man with a shaved head was her turn-on instead of Sarah's. Of course it was just sex. That's all he was offering – they both knew that. But she also knew full well the type of man she was dealing with. If she didn't set some sort of boundaries, he would just assume that she was available – anytime he was in the mood. "If I say no," Elise said softly. "Are you going to try and rape me?"

Elise was sorry before the words were even out of her mouth. With General Beckman in town, Elise was pretty sure that Joe had already received a serious dressing down. This was just piling on. And the look that came over his face instantly made her feel about an inch tall.

Joe struggled with his injured knee to get to his feet. "I'm sorry, Agent Walters," he said without looking at her. "I'll talk to you later."

"Joe, wait," Elise said quickly. "Look - I'm sorry that I said that."

Joe just stood there. He didn't look at her. "Is that what everyone thinks?" he asked so softly that Elise had to strain to hear him. "That I was going to rape her? Is that what she thinks? Is that what you think? I thought we already had this discussion."

Elise just shrugged her shoulders. "You have to admit," she said softly. "It looks bad."

When Joe finally turned towards her, Elise could plainly see the tears forming in his eyes. "I'm not a rapist," he finally said. "I thought she wanted it. She had made out with me just a few nights before. I'm talking about some pretty heavy second base type action. She was whispering how much she wanted me. So I thought that I was just resuming that. And Agent Walker has a reputation at the academy for liking to play rough. Maybe that's just urban legend. I guess I may have misinterpreted the situation. And this is no excuse – but I had been drinking and it probably went further than I planned. But I wasn't ever going to come close to raping her. I tried to apologize to her. Should I try again?"

Elise had to admit - if the smooth, confident Agent West was attractive before – the repentant, vulnerable Joe West was ten times more attractive now. "Look," she said. "I believe you. It wouldn't hurt to apologize to her again."

Joe nodded. "Okay," he said. "I will."

Elise took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to reach out to him. "Understand… I'm not saying yes – but if we do go upstairs, how is this going to work? Being your plaything for a night isn't going to help me much."

Joe finally displayed a faint smile. "Look," he said. "I understand that you think I'm a pompous jerk – at best. I guess I have that coming. Maybe sometimes you're even right… But I also realize that this isn't ever going to happen again unless we both get something out of it. So how about we start over? I'm not expecting or demanding anything… I'm asking – please give me the chance to prove that I know how to take care of you."

The look on his face caused Elise to sit up and take notice. He was saying all of the right things. But did he mean it… or was this just another play to get her between the sheets? There was really only one way to find out.

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah didn't want to break the latest kiss. She really didn't. It was just that she needed to breath. But she was on fire. And Chuck clearly knew it. He was enjoying taking it slow. They had been in the bedroom for over thirty minutes and all they had done was kiss. Well, 'all' was maybe a bit of an understatement. The kissing was as intense as it ever had been. Chuck was obviously making a point of seeing how hot he could get her. And, since he knew that kissing was her weakness, that's where he attacked.

Sarah had known for some time now that he was teasing her. She would have normally expected his hand to creep up her shirt long ago. After all, that was his traditional tell that it was time to get to the serious getting naked part. But she could see the sparkle in his eyes. He had now made this a contest. Which one would break first? And, come on – Chuck knew full well how competitive she was. She had already surrendered to him once tonight. He had to know that she would resist giving in again.

Fortunately Sarah knew Chuck's dirty little secret - that he was just as turned on as she , okay… maybe not just as turned on… but still._ Okay, bub. That's the way that you want it? Two can play at that game_. After all, Chuck had a weakness too.

So the next time that Chuck began working his way down her neck, she saw her opportunity. "Tonight in the back seat of the car reminded me of something," she whispered in her most seductive voice. "Remember the first time that you won one of our bets? It was in our old apartment. It was a couple of days before our second wedding. What was it that you had me do again? Oh, yeah – now I remember…"

x-x-x-x-x

Elise just lay there trying to catch her breath. She wasn't close to being able to think rationally yet. But there was one thought that she was able to process. Wow. She had never had anything close to this kind of experience in her life. It was so intense that she thought it was never going to end. And sure – she was turned on going in – no question about that. But it was far more than just simple arousal. Joe had just clicked with her at a level that no man had ever approached before. Every single move that he made was exactly right. And any fear about him being selfish was quickly laid to rest. He was tender and caring. Even now, long after most men would have rolled over - he was gently kissing her. Was he trying to prove something… possibly? Was he auditioning for a repeat performance… maybe? But whatever it was he was going for – he had succeeded – in spades.

Joe was clearly trying to catch his breath as well. "That was great," he whispered between breaths. "How are you doing?"

Elise knew full well what he was really asking. He wanted to know how he had performed. The problem was – what to tell him? After all, he had already shown an ego the size of Texas. If she told him the truth – that he had just completely rocked her world – would he ever let her hear the end of it? But, on the other hand, he had been perfect – just perfect. He deserved to know, didn't he? And another thing, the blush that was traveling up her neck would be hard to hide anyway. _Damn this light complexion_. Fortunately, Elise was saved having to answer. Because he reached down and kissed her again.

"I understand, Lise," he said with a grin. "Don't worry. I won't let it go to my head. But I have to tell you - it was, by far, the best experience of my life. I'm really hoping that you'll let us do it again."

Elise was a little unnerved that he was able to read her so easily. She was desperately trying to play it cool. _And what is with the pet name? Isn't it a little early for that?_ So she decided to change the subject. "I can't believe," she said with a soft smile. "How different you are. What happened to Agent West?"

"This is me," Joe said. "Agent West is what the CIA wants you to be. I'm Agent West to survive. I'm hoping that we can be who we really are in here. You can be Lise in here too. I'm sorry if you miss Agent West. Most people like him better."

"Don't be sorry," Elise said. "I like Joe a lot better. I'm not sure there is a Lise."

"There is a Lise," Joe said. "Of course there is. Let's work on finding her."

Elise just lay there amazed. _Wow. Is this too good to be true?_

"I'm sorry if this sounds pushy," Joe said with a grin. "But I'm really dying to know – did I earn a second chance?"

"Maybe," Elise said with a smile. "It wasn't bad." But she knew by his grin that she wasn't fooling anyone. So she came clean. "It was unbelievable. It was the best experience of my life too," she whispered. _The hell with playing it cool_.

His smile lit up the room. That alone made the breath catch in her throat. And, more important, it looked genuine. "Good," he said. "Can we try it again?"

Elise just nodded with her own smile. Then Joe started kissing his way down her neck. His hand had already found the exact spot that drove her crazy. "You mean right now?" she asked in surprise. That was pretty impressive.

Joe worked his way back to her mouth and pressed a mind blowing kiss to her lips. As soon as the kiss broke he smiled. "Lise, I'm sorry I rushed the first time," he said. "I was excited. It's just that you're so beautiful." And the funny thing was – he meant it. Elise lying there on her side… naked was the most erotic thing he had ever seen. "This time let's take our time and do it right."

Elise could quickly feel the fog of passion overcoming her senses. His hand was doing some magical things already. _Do it right? Oh my God_. "Okay," she whispered as she opened her mouth to allow their tongues to dance. _If last time wasn't right,_ _I'm a dead woman_.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was desperately trying to control his body. How had this situation gotten so away from him so quickly? Just a couple of minutes ago, he had Sarah quivering helplessly under his touch. And now, here she was, whispering erotic stories into his ear. She knew damn well what that did to him… especially that particular night. After all, it was the most erotic night of his life. The things that she did… He could feel his hand start to reach under her shirt. It was as if it had a mind of its own.

_Wait a minute. Sonofabitch. She knows exactly what she's doing. So that's the way she wants to play huh?_ Chuck knew that kissing was Sarah's main weakness. But it obviously wasn't enough. It was clearly time to pull out the heavy artillery. It was time to end this battle of wills once and for all.

"I remember that night," Chuck whispered as he kissed her again. "It was hot. But I remember that you have won a bet that you haven't collected yet. Why don't you tell me about your fantasy that we're going to live out?"

Chuck had just dropped the big one. They both knew it. But one look at her face – and Chuck realized something. _What am I doing_? It wasn't disappointment that she was showing – not really. After all, she was playing the game just as hard as he was. But… it was time to let her win one. As he began to slide his hand up his shirt – he saw the look of relief on her face. And he realized - who was he kidding anyway?

So he was a little surprised when she just smiled at him and grabbed his hand - stopping it just before he reached his target. "Not good enough," she whispered. "I want you to admit how turned on you are. I want to hear you tell me how much you want this – how much you want… me."

Chuck smiled as he recognized his speech from the car. "Okay," he said as he took a deep breath and nodded his head. "You win. Yes – I want you. I'll do anything to have you. I surrender. Is that good enough?" Then he reached down and pressed his mouth to hers.

"Yes, sweetie," Sarah whispered as she raised her arms in an obvious gesture. "It is more than good enough."

x-x-x-x-x

Janice sat in the family room feeding Kate her last nighttime bottle. Even though there was a glider love seat in the nursery, Janice felt more comfortable on the sofa. Perhaps because that was the first place that she had fed her.

From her vantage point, she could clearly hear the groans – coming from both bedrooms. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. And normally Janice would have been a little jealous. After all, Casey was still spending his nights at Devon and Ellie's. He wouldn't be by until around noon. And with the General in town, the time that they weren't in mission briefings was going to be taken up in wedding planning. So getting a little afternoon delight probably was going to have to take a back seat for a couple of days.

Janice had mixed feelings about West with Elise. She wasn't really worried. After all, Elise was a big girl. She understood what kind of guy West was. And even though she personally seethed at the thought, she could see Elise using him to calm her own needs. Seemed fair, after all the times that he had used women – and Elise obviously had needs.

But tonight none of that mattered one bit. Something special had just happened. Kate had just smiled at her. Oh, Janice had seen her smile before – but it was always when someone else was holding her. This time, the smile was all hers. And, wow, did it feel great.

So Janice just put the bottle back in Kate's mouth and watched as she accepted it eagerly. "I know, Katie," Janice said softly with her own smile. "They're ridiculous, aren't they?"

Janice couldn't get over how adorable Kate looked lying there. This surrogate mom thing wasn't half bad. She couldn't help but take the bottle out of her mouth long enough to gently kiss her. Wow – there was that smile again. Janice got a definite twinkle in her eyes. Chuck and Sarah only had a couple of years to learn how to be a lot quieter – or they would have some serious explaining to do.

x-x-x-x-x


	27. Full House

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major characters deaths in this story._

_Elise always says that it's stupid for a spy to fall in love. It's also time to head to Vegas. That means that Sarah has to say goodbye to baby Kate. And can Janice really fall in love with someone other than Casey?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Full House**

x-x-x-x-x

It was plain that, even if she didn't want to admit it, Janice could now take care of a baby. Make no mistake – she was never going to be nominated as au pair of the year. But Sarah had to admit - Kate wasn't going to starve, sit in messy diapers, or go without a bath. And even more importantly, she was going to be loved. No, that wasn't the issue. As a matter of fact, the issue wasn't with Janice at all. It was with Sarah. In just a few hours she had to leave Kate for… well who even knew? How could she possibly do that? How could she walk out that door? And that's why Sarah had taken to carrying Kate every second that she was awake… and even most seconds when she wasn't. She wanted to spend as much time with her as physically possible.

That's why Sarah had Kate in her arm in the laundry room. Sure, it was a lot harder to sort socks using only one arm. But how could she put Kate down? The short answer was that she couldn't. So she softly sang to her while she sorted the socks. Now Sarah didn't know many children's songs. As a matter of fact, she only knew one. And that's only because she heard a nurse singing it at the hospital… and it was so simple. Anybody could learn it. Even someone as mom-illiterate as Sarah Bartowski.

_I wish I had a little red box,_

_To put my Katy in._

_I'd take her out,_

_and shake, shake, shake._

_And put her right back in._

Fortunately, Kate didn't seem to mind the monotony of hearing the same verse over and over. In fact, she seemed to like it. Sarah was so into playing with Kate and watching her glorious smile that the socks were, quite frankly forgotten for some time.

"You have a very nice singing voice."

The words startled Sarah… so much so that she nearly dropped the baby. When she looked up, she saw Joe West standing in the doorway. It made her very blood run cold. He was the classic criminal – returning to the scene of the crime. Only this time, Sarah was completely helpless. And she knew it. With her holding Kate, there was simply no way to fight. And since he was blocking the only door, there was no way to run. Sarah tried hard to not let him see how unnerved that she was – but she couldn't keep the tremble out of her voice – or the tears from filling her eyes. "Agent West," she said shakily. "Please don't do this. Not in front of my baby."

At first, Joe couldn't figure out what she meant. But as soon as he saw the tears in her eyes it hit him. "I'm so sorry," he quickly said. "I just want to talk to you. I'm sorry if I'm scaring you. I want to assure you – I'm not a threat."

Sarah breathed a quick sigh of relief. She glanced at his eyes. For once, they were not aimed at her chest. That seemed hopeful. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Would you be more comfortable if we talked across the table?" Joe asked. "I'll make you a cup of coffee. Or, if you're busy I could come back. Again, the last thing that I want is to scare you."

Sarah needed a minute to get over the jolt that she just had received. She didn't want to talk to Joe West with her heart racing. No – if she was going to have a conversation with him, it would be with the three c's - clear, concise, and calm. So his offer made sense. It would give her a second to gather her composure. "A cup of coffee would be fine," she said. "I'll come out to the table."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise knew that she would have to eventually get up. After all, today was the day. They were leaving for Vegas this evening. And the day would be filled with the normal regimen of briefings and mission preparatory meetings. After all, they had a ton of contingencies to prepare for. It was entirely possible that something she would learn today would save her life. But it was going to be a busy day - especially with Beckman on site. With her penchant for detail – Elise would be lucky to be able to squeeze in a bathroom break.

Normally Elise wouldn't have had any trouble waking up. She really had never required much sleep. It was a trait that came in handy at the academy. And that wasn't the issue anyway. She wasn't really sleepy. It just felt so good to lie there. After that night – oh my god – that glorious night. It was simply amazing. The first time that she and Joe got together was head and shoulders the best experience of her life. But ten hours later – and now that first time wasn't even in the top three. _How could it possibly keep getting better_? But it did – each time was better.

Elise just lay there with her eyes closed and a stupid grin on her face – fondly reliving each moment. And as she did, she kept telling herself not to get too excited. After all, she was a spy. And so was he. This was just sex. _You can't fall in love with him_. Okay, it was great sex… but still. That was the deal with spies. The man was still clearly obsessed with Sarah for goodness sake. And even if they did have something, after this mission, he was long gone – even if they both survived. Who knew if she would ever see him again? She couldn't allow herself to want something that she just couldn't have. That would just be stupid. After all, it was the life she had chosen.

It was a spy's life.

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah sat at the table still holding Kate. She cautiously sipped the coffee that he sat in front of her. She looked at him across the table. His eyes were clearly on hers. And that was a first. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to set this guy straight.

"Agent Walker," Joe began.

Sarah had grown tired of correcting people. She hadn't been Agent Walker for over a year. But correcting him would just prolong the conversation a little. And Sarah was in no mood for that. So she just let it slide.

But she actually didn't have to correct him. He corrected himself. "Umm, I'm sorry," he said. "It's no longer Agent Walker is it? What do you prefer? Mrs. Bartowski?"

Normally, she would have just asked him to call her Sarah. But that was far too familiar. The last thing that she wanted was to send this guy any wrong signals. "Mrs. Bartowski would be fine," she said. There was something definitely off. What was up? He was almost bashful.

"Mrs. Bartowski," Joe said tentatively. "I understand that I've already apologized once. But I just want to tell you again how badly I feel about any misunderstanding between us. I would like to assure you that nothing of the sort will ever happen again."

Sarah bristled for a moment. "Misunderstanding?" she asked. "You attacked me."

"Yes, ma'am," Joe sighed. "I understand that is how you would see it. And I accept full responsibility for that. I'm not trying to make any excuses – but that was never my intent. I misunderstood the signals you were sending me."

"Signals?" Sarah said. "Let's be perfectly clear. If you heard me say anything that night on the sofa, I was not talking to you. I was sleeping. I happen to be an incredibly satisfied, happily married woman. There is one man who I'm sexually attracted too… and that man is not you. And that's going to be true for the rest of my life. Do we understand each other?"

Joe sighed. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "You're being very clear… a little brutal… but very clear. I'm truly sorry for any pain that I've caused.

Sarah couldn't help but smile a little. Beckman must have completely ripped him a new one - like only she could. He seemed genuinely sorry – but he still didn't get off the hook that easily. If this was just her, that was one thing. But after all, this bastard had hurt Chuck. That would take a lot to forgive. So she stared at him with narrowed eyes. "Fine," she said. "Let's make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. Now if there isn't anything else…"

"Yes, ma'am," Joe said. "Actually, there is something else."

Sarah's emotional guard instantly went up.

"I understand that I'm not your favorite person," Joe said. "But I was hoping that perhaps I could ask for a favor."

Sarah kept the groan inside. Here it comes. This apology crap was all a play so he could make his move. Will this guy never give up? "Favor?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Joe said. "I was hoping that you might put in a good word for me with Elise."

That was the very, very last thing that Sarah thought he would say. "Wow," she said sarcastically. "You actually want me to recommend you to my friend? I thought she wasn't well enough endowed for your tastes."

Sarah was surprised to see Joe's face fall. "I did say that, ma'am," he said. "But I was being a jerk. It was calculated for your benefit. I was running a line on you. Again, I'm very sorry."

Now Sarah was actually starting to feel a little badly for him. He did seem honestly remorseful. "Why do you want me to talk to Elise?" Sarah asked. "Surely you don't need my help getting women."

Joe actually smiled a little. "No ma'am," he said. "Not so far. I'm not talking about getting Elise into bed. It's more than that. She's special, ma'am. And she worships you. I'd really like the chance to get to know her better. I'm really not looking for an endorsement from you. I understand why you would be hesitant to do that. But just knowing that we've had this conversation would go a long way. Will you help me?"

Sarah had to fight to keep the smile from her face. "I'll think about it," she said.

"Thank you ma'am," Joe said as he got up from the table.

"Agent West?" Sarah called as he was walking away.

Joe stopped and turned back towards her.

"You're right about one thing," Sarah said. "She is very special. I can't tell you how much I love her. If you hurt her I have a big toe with your name written on it – again."

"Yes, ma'am," Joe said and he turned to walk away. "I'm actually still a little sore from the first time."

That caused Sarah to grin. "Agent West," she called again.

Joe stopped once again and turned towards her.

Sarah took a deep breath. Maybe the best thing would be to put this behind us. After all, he was going to participate in a life or death mission later today to save us. "Tell me something," she said. "If I accept your apology – and we move on – do you promise not to interpret it as me having some deep seeded latent romantic attraction to you? And would you maybe stop staring at my chest every time that you see me?"

Joe beamed. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "I'd like that very much."

"Okay, then," Sarah said with a smile. "Stop calling me ma'am. It makes me feel like I'm ninety. My name is Sarah."

Joe nodded. "Okay, Sarah," he said. "Thank you. I appreciate it. I can promise you that you won't be sorry."

Sarah didn't try to hide the grin. "I understand that I probably acquired a reputation from the academy…" she said. "But that was years ago. Maybe ten years ago things might have been different between us."

Joe just grinned. "Actually, Sarah," he said. "Ten years ago I would have been fourteen. So I think things might have been really, really, really different. Not that I wouldn't have been appreciative…"

x-x-x-x-x

When Joe returned to the bedroom, Elise was sitting on the bed waiting for him. "Where did you take off to?" she asked.

"I brought you a cup of coffee," Joe said as he handed her the cup.

"Thanks," said Elise. "That was sweet." And it was – a little too sweet.

Joe saw the look on her face. "I'm sorry," he said with a sigh. "I knew that you took sugar in your coffee. I just didn't know how much."

Elise just grinned. Wow. He was really making an effort, wasn't he? After all it was the thought that counts. So she took a deep breath and handed him the folder. "Here," she said.

Joe just stared at it. "What's this?" he asked.

"These are the pictures that you wanted to see," Elise said. "Please don't tell Chuck or Sarah that I gave them to you. You were right. There are some pretty clear shots of her chest."

Joe just smiled. "Why?" he asked.

When Joe didn't take the folder right away, Elise sat it on the bed. Then she sighed. "You were right," she said softly. "It's what partners do for each other."

That changed Joe's smile into a broad grin. "No thanks," he finally said. "You were right. I don't have any reason to see them."

Elise was amazed - and more than a little pissed off. "Let me get this straight," she said. "After all that whining – I'm offering to show you Sarah's boobs – and you're turning me down?"

Joe couldn't wipe the smile from his face. She was so hot when she was – well – hot. Sarah and I just had a long talk," he said. "And she's convinced me, in no uncertain terms, that I was wrong about her being attracted to me. So, while I'm sure that they are very nice boobs, I really no longer have a burning desire to see them. As a matter of fact, Lise, if I'm going to see someone's boobs today…"

Elise took a moment to understand what he was saying. Then the light bulb went on… and the flush started up her neck. "What are you?" she asked with a grin. "Insatiable? Or a machine?"

Joe bent over and kissed her gently. "Neither, Lise," he whispered with his own grin. "I'm just inspired."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were in their bedroom. It was almost time to leave for Vegas. Everyone had come to say goodbye. Beckman was there. Casey had brought Ellie and Devon. They were all gathered in the living room waiting to see them off. It was almost like a going away party – except that it wasn't happy – or a party.

Chuck and Sarah were taking this time to say their private goodbyes to Kate. And Sarah was taking it very hard. She made no effort to keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

Chuck smiled at the scene. "Okay, Katy," he said. "Make sure that you're a good girl for Aunt Janice."

"Actually, sweetie," Sarah said with a smile through her tears. "You don't have to be all that good. As a matter of fact, a little fussiness might not be all bad."

Chuck turned his grin to his wife. "You're terrible," he said. "Are you sure that you're okay driving to Vegas with West?"

Sarah nodded as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "I'm very sure," she said. "We can't have anybody accidentally spotting you and me together yet. Besides, after our talk, he has been acting like a choirboy. I think he may have finally gotten it through his head that a woman could actually resist him. Are you sure that you're okay?"

"I'm okay," Chuck said with a sigh. "He seemed genuinely remorseful when I talked to him. And Elise thinks that he's not a bad guy. That has to carry a lot of weight. We've got enough to worry about on this mission. I guess we can let this one go."

"I just wish I could drive my car," Sarah said. "That would scare him."

Chuck just smiled. "I thought we were letting this go," he said.

"I know," Sarah said with her own smile. "That would just be fun."

Chuck just grinned and bumped his shoulder against Sarah's which caused her to stumble a little. Then he leaned down and kissed Kate one last time. "Okay," he said with a sigh. "I guess that we'd better go say goodbye to our full house."

x-x-x-x-x


	28. All In or Fold

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major characters deaths in this story._

_Is Elise really in love with Chuck? Can Sarah and Joe become friends without making people jealous? Oh, and can they catch Colson?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**All In or Fold**

x-x-x-x-x

Something was clearly off. She hadn't said a word in the past half hour. So Chuck put his hand over Elise's which was resting on the gear shifter. "Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"

The corners of Elise's mouth turned into a half smile as she quickly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "What makes you think that something is wrong?" she asked.

"Well," Chuck said as he ticked off the points on his fingers. "We're only doing eighty – The radio isn't blaring – and I haven't had to hide my eyes from death once. Besides – come on, Elise – this is me you're talking to. Something is clearly wrong. Do you really think that I can't tell?"

Elise smiled a little more. "I'm sure that you've already considered and rejected this," she said. "Being a world famous interpersonal savant with physic powers and all – but we are on our way to a dangerous life or death type mission. Don't you think that maybe being a little reflective might not be so unusual?"

"You're absolutely right," Chuck said with a grin. "I did consider and reject that. Because that was also true the last time that we were making this drive. And then you were singing at the top of your lungs. You have a really nice voice, by the way. And your lungs aren't half bad either."

That got the grin he was looking for. "Stop," Elise said as she laughed. "In a bar, that's the kind of line that might get a drink thrown in your face."

"Probably," Chuck said with his own laugh. "I mean you're the expert. You've spent a lot more time in bars than I have. But then again, with the right girl it's possible that I might have gotten lucky."

"Possibly," Elise said. "But highly unlikely. For what it's worth, my lungs thank you."

Chuck just sat there for a long moment with his hand on top of hers. "It's okay," he finally said as he gave her hand a squeeze. "I understand."

Elise just looked at the road. "Okay," she said. "I'll bite. What do you understand?"

"Spies are taught to not have feelings," Chuck said. "Of course - I get that. But you know that I don't think it's true. Feelings can be an asset if you admit them. It's okay for a spy to be in love – healthy even. You just have to admit and deal with it."

The redness rising up Elise's neck was plain. "Sarah told you that I'm in love," she said. "Didn't she?"

"She didn't have to tell me," Chuck said.

Elise blew out a frustrated breath… and all of her frustrations came pouring out. "I know that Sarah thinks that I'm in love with you," she said. "Maybe… but I really don't think I am. I mean… I could be. I think you're great. And we have had some great times together. I'll even admit to thinking about it sometimes. But, come on, Chuck – I can't let that happen. How stupid would that be? You're with Sarah. Even if I did allow myself to fall for you, I'd only get hurt. I can't compete with…" Elise stopped her rambling as she realized that she had said way too much.

"You can't compete with Sarah," Chuck said softly. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

Elise didn't respond. She just stared at the road.

"Come on, Elise," Chuck said. "It's important that you don't misunderstand what I'm about to say. I am in love with Sarah. And just saying the words 'in love' seems hollow somehow. It doesn't even come close to describing how I feel about her. I always will. I can't picture my life without her. That is not going to change. But I have to tell you something. If Sarah wasn't around, I could really see myself falling for you. You're the only woman I know that I could say that about. The honest truth is that you're just as far out of my league as Sarah is. You don't have to compete with Sarah… or anybody else. You're you. And that is incredibly – unbelievably special."

"Come on, Chuck," Elise said angrily. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. But stop trying to blow smoke up my skirt. That's bullshit and you know it."

Chuck looked surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm the only woman you could see yourself with?" Elise asked sarcastically. "Come off it. If Sarah hadn't been around, you'd be with Janice. I heard all about the story of her throwing herself at you."

Chuck just laughed. "You're kidding right?" he said. "Don't get me wrong. I love Janice. I do. She is my best friend. But God bless Casey. I seriously don't know how he does it. Janice and I wouldn't last two weeks as a couple. You know that's true. She would have me blowing my brains out. She would even be the one to hand me the gun. But first, she would make me practice with blanks so that I would be sure to do it right. That is plain to everybody. You are not Janice. You and I could actually work. Besides, I'm not even talking about me."

Elise just tightened her jaw… and her grip on the wheel. "I know who you're talking about," she said. "And that would be even stupider then falling for you."

"Why?" Chuck asked.

Chuck could see the tears on Elise's cheek. "Because," she said. "We're spies. He is just looking for a good time between the sheets for a couple of weeks. He's not interested in falling in love. And even if he was, he's not going to be around long enough. He'll be leaving just about the time…"

"He'll be leaving just about the time that you're hopelessly in love with him," Chuck said. "That's what you were going to say, isn't it?"

Elise didn't answer. Not really. Not with words anyway. She just started sobbing. "What am I going to do?" she sobbed. "I've never felt like this before. I hate this fucking life."

Chuck picked up her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "I hate it too," he said. "But don't worry. I promise you – you just need to hang in there. One way or another, this is going to work out. Sarah and I are going to make sure of that."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah and Joe were about twenty minutes behind Chuck and Elise. Sarah was driving Janice's car – and was not particularly happy about it. Not that there was anything wrong with Janice's Mercedes. But it simply didn't have the high end performance characteristics of her Porsche. And especially when they were in the mountains. Not only that, she was obviously jealous. Another woman was currently enjoying her car. "My car and my guy," she grumbled, not even sure which hurt worse.

"I'm sorry," Joe said. "Did you say something? I didn't hear you."

"No," Sarah snapped.

Joe looked at her. "Are you upset with me?" he asked.

"Not really," Sarah said. "I'm just upset with the situation."

"Is that why you're testing me?" Joe asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked pointedly.

"Come on, Sarah," Joe said with a frustrated sigh. "Do you always have that many buttons unbuttoned? You are punishing me. That's not fair."

"We're undercover," Sarah said with a smile. "Colson will be expecting Agent Walker. This is how Agent Walker would dress. And yes – just so we're clear - I am keeping track of how many times I see your eyes looking down here. Elise will get a full report."

"Couldn't you button up a button until we get there?" Joe asked. "This is not right. I'm trying to be respectful. You must know what that does to men."

"Nope," Sarah said with a grin. "What kind of test would that be? I clearly know what this does to men – I taught a class on the subject. Except perhaps for men who are trying to start a relationship with another woman. You asked me to speak to Elise on your behalf. Let's decide what I am going to tell her. Trust me, Elise will definitely want to know." Sarah grinned even broader when she heard his head bang against the side window. With no hair to protect his head, the thump was noticeable. _As Ellie would say - payback is a bitch_.

"This sucks," Joe whispered under his breath.

But finally Sarah decided to let him off the hook. "Okay, Joe," she said. "I'll admit – I'm being a little vindictive. And you have been a lot better lately. So let's make a deal. If you tell me the truth about Elise, I'll button up my blouse and stop teasing you."

Joe turned towards Sarah – and made sure to look directly into her eyes. "Deal," he said. "What do you want to know?"

"How do you really feel about her?" Sarah asked. "Trust me - I understand all about the spy fling. Is that what this is?"

Joe just stared for a long moment. "Honestly," he finally said. "I'm not sure. I know how I feel. I'm just not sure about her."

Sarah sighed. "Why don't we start with you," she said.

"I'm crazy about her," Joe said. "I've never met anyone like her. I really wish we could have more time – but she clearly is keeping me at an arm's distance."

"She's scared," Sarah said quickly. "Come on, Joe. She knows the situation. The worst thing that could happen to Elise is for her to fall for you – and then for you to move on. That's what agents do. She knows that. She knows how guys like you treat women. So she's protecting herself. I frankly don't blame her. I'm not going to let you do that to her."

Joe took a big breath. "Okay, Sarah," he said angrily. "Look. I understand that you and I didn't start off very well. And that was completely my fault. I'll take full responsibility for that. And I've tried in every way that I know how to make it up to you. I just don't know any other way to say this. I'm done being treated like a complete jerk. I'm going to say this once more. I'm crazy about Elise. I'm feeling things that I've never felt before in my life. I've known her for twenty days and I'm terrified of having to leave her. That's the truth. I was hoping for your help in convincing her. But if you don't believe me, you can go to hell. She's the one pushing me away. I'm the one that is far more likely to get hurt in this deal."

Sarah looked at the road for a long moment. But then she smiled. "Okay, Joe," she said. "I actually believe you. And you know what? You're right. It's time to put what happened behind us. I'm sorry. Can we maybe start over? I'll promise that I'll stop treating you like a complete jerk. I'll start treating you like only a partial jerk."

"I don't know," Joe said with a grin. "I'm pretty hurt. Maybe under one condition."

Sarah laughed. "I think I'm afraid to ask," she said.

"Nothing like that," Joe said quickly. "I'm not going there. Given our history, that's not even something I'm willing to joke about. I just need your help to get Janice Beckman."

"Get?" Sarah asked hesitantly. "As in… in bed? Joe, I seriously hope that you don't have any illusion about Janice wanting you. Casey may not have an intersect to kick your ass – but, trust me. He loves having an excuse to shoot people."

"Do you have a one track mind?" Joe asked with a laugh. "Please understand - I have zero desire to get Janice Beckman in bed. The thought alone is giving me the willies. I just need some measure of revenge. She conned me into shaving my head. That was just wrong. It simply can't be left unavenged. I could never look myself in the mirror if I don't get her back. It's a moral imperative. It occurs to me that I could use some help. If you would help me, I'll join my new amazing redheaded potential girlfriend, who I might be falling in love with, in worshiping you."

Sarah grinned. "Well," she said. "I have to admit - I do love being worshiped. There is no question about that. And watching Janice squirm is also high on my list of favorite things… Do you have a specific plan in mind?"

"Not really," Joe said. "I have some thoughts - but nothing firm."

Sarah's eyes sparkled. "You're in luck, Joe," she said. "I just happen to be married to a genius when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Right," Joe said sadly. "Like Chuck would do anything to help me – I think he might have just gotten over wanting to kill me. I'm planning on staying out of his way as much as possible."

Sarah glanced over to Joe. "You really don't know him," she said softly. The pride in her voice was unmistakable. "Chuck is such an amazing man. Once he accepts an apology – like he's accepted yours – it's over. He doesn't hold a grudge." Then Sarah's smile turned devious. "Besides," she said. "I have a dirty little secret. I can talk him into pretty much anything. Please don't tell him that I said that."

Joe glanced at Sarah with a new found respect. "Elise said that you two really had something," he said with a soft smile. "I guess it's true."

Sarah had to blink away the tears that were forming. "If you only knew," she said. "Before I met Chuck, if you would have ever told me that I could ever feel like this – I would have laughed at you. He is my life. We've been apart for a little over two hours now – and I already miss him like crazy."

x-x-x-x-x

Adam Colson sat at the table. His men were plainly not happy. After all, it was coming up on ten o'clock. It was just when the casinos would start to get really hopping. So it was the last time of the day that they wanted to be in a team briefing.

"Okay, men," Colson said. "Settle down. There is only one more thing. Then I'll let you get back to your fun."

Colson had never really established a chain of command. It had never been necessary. But now that the team was growing, he could see that it might be wise to establish a lieutenant. And it had been clear for some time that Al Cook was at a different level. He was trusted to a degree that no one else approached. "I apologize, sir," Cook said as he looked around the room angrily. "The men understand that duty comes first. Don't we, men?"

"The snappy chorus of "yes sir" was exactly what Colson wanted to hear. After all, it didn't hurt them to worship a little. So maybe it was time to reward them. "Okay men," Colson said. "You're dismissed. Al, could you wait for a minute?"

Cook knew that Colson using his first name in front of the men was a symbol. And he was inwardly beaming. So he just sat while the men gratefully filed out of the room.

As soon as everyone had left, Colson turned to Cook. "Walters and Carmichael are due to report in tonight, isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir," Cook said. "They were instructed to meet Pearson at the MGM at midnight. How would you like me to proceed? Would you like to meet them?"

"Not yet," Colson said. "You can handle it."

"Yes, sir," Cook said. "Do you have any specific instructions?"

"I'm going to leave that to your discretion," Colson said. "I seriously doubt that they will have anything of importance to report. If they do, dismiss them for a day and we can discuss it. Otherwise, let's get a handle on Walter's loyalty. She could be moderately valuable – once she's broken."

"Yes, sir," Cook said. "What about Carmichael?"

"I don't trust him," Colson said. "Have some of your men take care of him."

"Okay," Cook said with a grin. His words were clearly intentional. 'Your men?' Colson was obviously telling him something. "Do you want a video?"

"Not this time," Colson said. "There is no advantage in showing another torture. The CIA wouldn't care about this guy. A quick bullet to the head would be fine – quicker and not so messy. Just bury the body in the desert someplace."

"Yes, sir," Cook said as he stood up to leave.

"Al," Colson called.

It was the second time that Colson had used his first name in the past ten minutes. "Sir," he said.

"Have a good time evaluating Agent Walter's loyalty," Colson said with a grin. "She's a very beautiful woman. You've earned it. A video of her performance might be nice. I'll be very interested in seeing how far you can push her. If she fails – and we have another body to dispose of… The video might come in handy. After all, she is an agent. The CIA couldn't ignore her."

Cook was floored. He was right about one thing, Walters was an incredibly beautiful woman. This second in command thing wasn't half bad. One thing was for sure – if Colson wanted someone to worship him – he had surely come to the right place. He was going to see a video that would blow his mind – either way. "Thank you, sir," he said.

x-x-x-x-x


	29. Lucky at Cards

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major character deaths in this story._

_Okay folks. You have been wanting for the story to get tense. Hold on to your hat. There is an old saying – Lucky at cards, unlucky at love. Which is Elise?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Lucky at Cards**

x-x-x-x-x

General Beckman had insisted that Janice and Casey participate in their least favorite thing to do – wedding planning. Well, for Janice, it wasn't all that bad. At least she got to spend some quality time with her mom. And then there was that. Mom's eyes were lighting up like Janice had never seen them before. It was obvious. She had found something that she truly enjoyed.

Janice had to admit – holding Kate made it a lot easier. Actually, it made almost everything a lot easier. It was getting scary how attached she was getting - and especially when Kate was in one of her silly moods. Was there anything more wonderful in the whole wide world than listening to a baby laugh? Janice was actually coming to dread Sarah coming back. That meant that she would lose her new little friend.

Casey, on the other hand, was a totally different matter. This was torture. Simple torture. For one thing, this wasn't his mom – it was his superior officer. For another, he didn't understand one damn thing that they were talking about. And if he needed another reason – he had a good one. It was abundantly clear that his opinion wasn't really being solicited anyway.

The core problem was readily apparent. They simply had different perspectives on how the wedding should go. Casey was clearly the most basic. He would have been content with sneaking off to Vegas.

Janice's sights were a little higher. She was also thinking Vegas. But she was thinking more along the lines of Chuck and Sarah's second wedding – the parts that she could remember, that is. After all, Janice couldn't ever remember being that drunk – or that sick afterwards, for that matter. Devon always teased her that he had saved her from going upstairs with Lester. But he was only teasing, right? Had she really been that drunk? Still – it was a good party.

But the General had an entirely different level of affair in mind. She was planning a high society event that the president would attend.

Beckman was taking charge of the planning – like only she could – with an iron fist. "I assume that you'll be in uniform, John," she said. "I'll schedule a tailor to get you into some decent Dress Blues. Of course, that means you'll need to salute the President and me. Janice, I've engaged Alfred Angelo to design your gown. He can work you into his schedule in two weeks. Of course, you'll need to fly to Atlanta. I'm thinking something low cut and strapless. After all, your figure is breathtaking. We would want to accentuate it. Don't you think?"

All Janice could do was smile at her breathless speech – and nod.

"By the way," Beckman said. "You look incredibly natural holding that baby. When can I expect a granddaughter of my own to bounce on my knee? After all, my knees are not getting any younger."

That stopped the smile on Janice's face – and naturally, Casey chose that exact moment to choke on his coffee.

x-x-x-x-x

Al Cook didn't know if he should be happy or sad. There was no question that he was disappointed. After all, Elise Walters was looking extra especially hot tonight. And with the news they were bringing – well Walter's test of her obedience would have to wait. Not only that - Carmichael would now get to live for at least one more day. But on the other hand, he now had some exciting news to take to his new god and lay at his feet. That had to be worth something, right?

For the moment anyway, he was still pretending to be Colson. But he was sure that was going to quickly change. The real Colson was surely going to want to meet these two in person. "So," Cook said. "You have discovered why Beckman visited Los Angeles? That is most impressive."

"Thank you, sir," Chuck said. "We got lucky. Using Agent Walter's CIA credentials, we were able to infiltrate the secure military area of the airport. So when General Beckman's handlers came to meet her, they accepted us as part of the team."

"Meet her?" Cook asked. "She was there again?"

"Yes, sir," Elise said. "She arrived last night. Her team met her there."

Cook just nodded. "Excellent," he said. "You talk about a team. Were you able to identify them?"

Elise got out the picture of Joe and Sarah standing by the fence and handed it to Cook. "Partially, sir," she said. "I recognize the woman. She is fairly famous. Her name is Sarah Walker. I don't know who her partner is. She called him Joe – but that's all I know."

Cook was beaming. "This is excellent work," he said. "Why don't you report back tomorrow…"

"Excuse me, sir," Elise said. "But there is more."

"More?"

"Yes, sir," Chuck said. "I was actually able to strike up a… well a friendship with Agent Walker."

Elise unhappily took out the pictures of Chuck and Sarah in the back seat of the car and handed them to Cook.

Cook quickly browsed through the pictures. He paused for a long moment at the one that clearly showed Sarah's breast. "Wow," he said. "How did you manage this?"

"It was fairly easy," Chuck said. "After all – she's a woman."

Elise let out a frustrated breath. "Get over yourself, stud," she snapped sarcastically. "She was clearly just trying to make her partner jealous. You could cut the sexual tension between them with a knife. And she made damn sure that he knew what was going on in that car. After all, Walker is pretty famous for falling for her partners. She was just using you."

Chuck looked at Elise knowingly. "Come on," he said. "I've told you a hundred times. It was just an assignment. There's no need to be jealous."

"Screw you," Elise said angrily. "Look at this damn picture and tell me that you weren't into it."

Cook smiled at their obvious quarrel. "Folks," he said. "Could you maybe work on your personal issues on your own time? Did you find out anything from Agent Walker? Besides the obvious stuff, I mean."

"Yes, sir," Chuck said. "I know that General Beckman is forming a task force to go after you sir. They are reacting to the death of an agent. I believe his name was Bruce… Bruce Larker, maybe."

"The name was Bryce Larkin," Elise interrupted sarcastically. "Some professional assignment. I'm surprised that you can remember your own name."

But Chuck wasn't fazed at all. "What can I say?" he asked. "She distracted me. Anyway, they are pulling out all the stops to find you. They mentioned you by name."

"How much do they know?" Cook asked.

"I'm not sure, sir," Chuck said. "She didn't want to talk much. She clearly had other things on her mind. Then we were interrupted."

"I'll bet," Elise muttered under her breath.

"She did say that she was going to contact me again," Chuck said with a smile. "To finish what we started." Then he turned towards Elise with a sly grin. "She must want to make her partner jealous… again."

"This is excellent work," Cook said. "I'll walk you down to the lobby and you can get a cab. You're dismissed until tomorrow. Report back in the lobby at midnight." He then made eye contact with Pearson.

Pearson saw Cooks gesture and immediately slapped Chuck on the back. "Well done," he said as he led Chuck into the hallway. "She is super hot. Tell me, how did she feel?"

Cook walked over to Elise while Pearson had Chuck occupied. "I know that you're not happy," he said softly. "But we need him. Whatever personal issues you have – set them aside. Tonight, you're his fantasy girl. Tomorrow night I want him with a smile on his face that it would take a surgeon to remove. No is not in your vocabulary. Am I clear?"

"Elise just looked at Cook – and sighed. "Yes, sir," she said sadly. "No is never in my vocabulary."

x-x-x-x-x

Joe and Sarah were just getting ready to check in at the hotel. With Sarah's black wig – and her glasses, Joe barely recognized her. As they walked towards the hotel lobby, Sarah popped open the button that she had fastened in the car and looped her arm through his. "I know this is awkward," she said softly. "Given our history… But in this lobby, we're a couple. Look down here all you want."

Joe just smiled. "For the record," he said. "I really don't want to."

"I know," Sarah said with a grin. "And that's sweet. But force yourself. Don't get us killed."

"One thing I will say," Joe said with a sigh. "Again, just for the record – you're just as gorgeous with dark hair as you are a blonde."

"Why darlin," Sarah said loudly in her Southern accent as she reached over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Aren't you just the sweetest thing? Here's a little down payment for y'all. You just wait until I get you in that room."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise wasn't in the best mood anyway. And she probably should have been more alert. But it had already been a crappy day. And this fake Colson dude had just nailed the coffin shut on it. _Just who in the hell does he think he is?_ Was that all she was going to be for the pathetic little band of Fulcrum that had survived? A skirt? Did he really expect her to spend the night being the plaything… Damn, she was pissed. And even though she knew that nothing was going to happen – he didn't know that. So she stomped her way through the Palace Station lobby. _Cheap bastard can't even spring for a decent hotel_.

"Elise? Elise Walters?"

The sound made her blood run cold. And she saw the look on her 'friends' faces right away. They had heard. So she had no choice but to turn towards the sound.

"Hi," he said as he came walking up to her. "Remember me? Andy Jefferies?"

Elise knew that she couldn't deny anything. He had already said her name. "Oh, hi," she said. "Yeah. Andy. Nice to see you again." But she hoped. If she just kept walking, maybe Andy would take the hint. But – no such luck.

"Are you staying here too?" Andy asked. "It's great, isn't it?"

Elise knew that she had to get rid of him. But how? "It's fantastic," she said. "Andy, it was good to see you. Maybe we can get together later. But I'm late right now. I have a date."

"Super," Andy said with a silly grin. "I'll be around the casino pretty much all the time."

Elise racked her brain trying to think through the contingencies. Maybe this wasn't so terrible. She ran into someone who knew her name. So what? It happens. Maybe they would just let it slide.

But then Andy called out something in passing. It was the something that sealed his fate. "Say hi to Casey for me," he called.

As soon as Chuck and Elise were in the cab, Chuck turned to her. "Well," he said. "There goes that plan. Who in the hell was that? And how does he know Casey?"

Elise was beside herself. "Chuck," she cried. "I'm so sorry. I should have been more alert. If I had spotted him early, maybe I could have avoided him. His name is Andy Jefferies. He is an old army buddy of Casey's. Now he's an L.A. cop. We used his house when we scammed Ellie."

"Oh my God," Chuck cried. "Does he know Ellie?"

"He knows everyone," Elise cried. "He knows Janice, Ellie, Devon, everyone. The only ones that he doesn't know are you and Sarah."

"Shit!" Chuck cried as he pounded the seat in front of him in frustration. "Can this possibly get any worse?"

"Okay, Chuck," Elise said. "I need you to stay calm. Panicking isn't going to help anybody. Maybe they won't make the connection."

But Chuck just shook his head. "We have to assume that they will," he said. "Otherwise, we'll be defenseless. I need for you to tell me something. I need your most cold, calculating, spy demeanor right now. The life of everyone who either of us loves is at stake. Can you do that for me?"

Elise just nodded.

"How much can we trust Joe?"

x-x-x-x-x

It was the first time that Casey had been at home base for the night in a couple of weeks. But Beckman had decided that with Chuck, Sarah, Joe, and Elise gone – it made sense for Ellie and Devon to stay there. After all, they were getting pretty thin, fire power wise. And that was just fine with Janice - actually, way more than fine. Unfortunately, her warm snuggling was interrupted by a pounding on the door.

"We have a crisis," came Beckman's voice booming through the door. "Communication Room in ten."

Casey and Janice came into the room after a little more than three minutes. They were, more or less, dressed. Beckman was just finishing a conference. Casey walked quickly to the conference table and sat down. He took out his weapon and slammed a clip into it.

Janice walked to Casey and stood behind him nervously. She was afraid to sit down. This couldn't be good. "Are they still alive, ma'am?" she asked.

"What?" Beckman asked, obviously confused.

"You said we have a crisis, ma'am," Casey said.

"Absolutely," Beckman said. "I'm afraid that I have very some bad news. I just got off a conference call with the President's staff."

Now Janice's heart was in her throat. It was two in the morning in Washington. This must truly be catastrophic. They must have found their bodies.

"We have to totally change the menu," Beckman said. "The President's people are concerned that we have too much emphasis on Midwest products. They would like something on the menu from a Southern state. They are really struggling in the polls there."

"The menu, ma'am," Casey asked in confusion.

"Hello," Beckman said. The frustration in her voice was plain. "John, what have we been discussing for the past day? For the reception." Then she looked over and noticed the tears running down Janice's face. "Don't panic, Janice," she said as softly as she could. "It's okay. We'll deal with this. We just have to make some quick decisions."

Janice just stumbled to the chair next to Casey and more or less collapsed. "Oh my God," she whispered loudly as she let her head fall to the table with a thump.

"I know," Beckman growled – but in reality the smile that was coming to her face showed that she wasn't all that upset. "This wedding is going to be the death of me."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck turned to Elise and grabbed her hand. "You're positive about this?" he asked. "I need you to eliminate any romantic feelings that you have for this man. Can we trust him?"

Elise nodded. "We can trust him," she said. "He will give up his life to do the right thing for us. I'm confident of that."

Chuck sighed. "Let's hope that won't be necessary," he said. "Elise, I need to ask something of you."

Elise just nodded expectantly. "Of course," she said. "You know that you can ask anything of me."

"Elise," Chuck said softly. "You know that I would never ask this of you. I would never ask you to use sex to manipulate someone that you like. But we're desperate."

"Chuck," Elise cried. "Please. Please don't ask me that. Not with him. I'm not sure that I can. I… I… I think that I could love him someday. Please don't ask me to play him. Please."

"It's either that," Chuck said. "Or watch him – and everyone else that we love die. I know that's a crappy choice – but it's the one that we're left with. Can I count on you?"

Elise sobbed. "I'll try," she choked out.

"Not good enough," Chuck said as he shook her shoulder harshly. "There is no try here. I'm asking you – can I count on you?"

Elise struggled to compose herself. "Yes," she finally whispered. "You can count on me."

"Thank you," Chuck said. But when he went to hug her, she pushed him away.

"If I'm going to do this," Elise said flatly. "I need to get in agent mode. So stay on your side of the damn car."

Chuck just nodded. "I understand."

"After this," Elise said. "I'm done."

"Okay," Chuck said.

"No," Elise said as she raised her voice. "I mean it. I'm done - with everything - with being a spy – with having friends – with this life – and, most definitely, with you."

Chuck knew that Elise didn't mean that. It was just how she was getting herself ready to do something very hard. But it still hurt to hear. He knew that he couldn't comfort her – that would defeat the whole point. So he just swallowed. "Okay," he said. "If that's what you want."

"Yes, Chuck," Elise said as she looked out the window away from him. "That's what I want."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was on pins and needles.

She had passed concerned about a half hour ago. Now she was clearly into full fledged panic. After all, she expected Chuck and Elise to come through that door hours ago. Well, that wasn't exactly true. It had only been about an hour past the earliest they could possibly be there. But still – it seemed like ten hours. And there was a fairly well known fact within the spy community. When the person who was formerly known as Sarah Walker was on pins and needles, she wasn't very pleasant to be around.

If Joe had heard the rumors – or was just going on instinct, he obviously knew better than to try and talk her down. For his own self preservation, he just turned on the TV and sat watching Sports Center. He watched wordlessly as she wore out a path in the carpet pacing back and forth from the door to the window.

But finally, mercifully, there came a knock at the door. Sarah checked who was at the door. And she silently opened the door. She waited patiently until they were in the room – and the door closed. Then all hell broke loose. "Where in the hell have you been?" she all but shouted.

Chuck wanted to go and wrap his arms around Sarah. But that would be just rubbing more salt in Elise's open wound. And, after all, they would be alone in a few minutes. So he tried to stay professional. "Sorry," he said. "We have been making extra sure that we weren't being tailed. Chuck could plainly see the looks of concern on Sarah and Joe's faces. So he sighed. "I'm afraid," he said as calmly as he could. "We have a problem."

x-x-x-x-x

Janice was sleeping as soundly as a spy ever did. After all, taking care of a baby was exhausting work. And after the emotional scare that she had just gone through, compounded by the fact that her big, warm fiancé was spooned comfortably into her, she was completely out. So it took a long moment before she even recognized the pounding on the door. It was déjà vu of two hours ago. Beckman's voice came booming through the door.

"We have a crisis," she called. "Communication Room in five."

"You've got to be kidding me," Casey moaned. "When is she going back to Washington? Can't we just elope?"

"Stay in bed," Janice whispered. "I'll deal with this."

Janice didn't bother to even get dressed. And since this was Casey's first night there in a while, what she was wearing left absolutely nothing to the imagination. If she came across Devon in the hallway, she was going to have some serious explaining to do with Ellie. But she was much too tired to even care.

"Where is Colonel Casey?" Beckman asked as she eyed Janice's mode of dress.

"I told him to stay in bed," Janice said as she stepped into the Communication Room. "Mom, please don't take this the wrong way. I appreciate what you're doing for us more than I could ever tell you. But the simple truth is that I don't give a damn what we serve for dinner at the reception. And I certainly don't care what part of the country it comes from. And Casey cares even less than I do. I'll probably be too nervous to eat anyway. As long as there is a bottle of Scotch…"

"You don't understand, Agent Beckman," General Beckman interrupted harshly. "You need to go get the Colonel and return ASAP – dressed appropriately."

The look that the General was giving her sent a chill down Janice's spine.

"I'm afraid we have a serious situation," Beckman said. "We've found another body."

x-x-x-x-x


	30. Royal Flush

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are major character deaths in this story. This chapter has some adult language and situations. It is also fairly violent._

_Those who have wanted the story to get dark – be careful what you wish for. Have they pushed Joe West too far?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Royal Flush**

x-x-x-x-x

Adam Colson sat across the table. "Wow," he said. "That was fast. She must have been more cooperative than I assumed. Do you have a tape for me?"

Al Cook just smiled. "No, sir," he replied. "I don't have a tape yet, I'm afraid – maybe tomorrow. But I do think that I have some other things that you will enjoy."

Colson opened the folder that Cook handed him. He immediately flashed on Joe. His grin got progressively more pronounced as he slowly paged through the pictures. Finally, he got to the one that everyone always gravitated to. He could hardly control his voice. "Al," he said. "Do you know who this is?"

"Yes, sir," Cook replied with a grin. "It's Sarah Walker. She's every bit as beautiful as you described."

"Indeed," Colson said. "How did Carmichael ever get her in that car?"

"Apparently, sir," Cook replied. "She was trying to make her partner jealous. They must be having a fling. Walters didn't know who the partner was. All she knows is that they called him Joe."

"Joe West," Colson said. "He's young. Just graduated from the academy. Walker is clearly the senior person. It makes sense that they would be having a fling. Walker is known to fall for her partners."

"Yes, sir," Cook said. "That correlates perfectly with what Walters and Carmichael said."

"Where is Walker now?" Colson asked.

"We're not sure," Cook said. "Carmichael said that she promised to contact him – to finish what they started."

"We can't lose Carmichael," Colson quickly said. "We need him."

"Don't worry, sir," Cook said. "I'm all over this. They are going to report back here tomorrow."

"Good," Colson said.

"I've already instructed Walters to make sure he is pleasantly occupied tonight," Cook said with a grin. "You should have seen the look on her face. Then I had Pearson tip him off that she would be willing to do anything he would ask. She is probably on her knees as we speak."

"Excellent," Colson said. "I really want to meet this amazing man. You're dismissed."

"Yes, sir," Cook said with a smile. "Actually, there is something else."

Colson's eyes widened. "Well, Al," he said. "You're on a roll tonight. Shoot."

"There was a man who recognized Walters in the lobby," Cook said. "He called her by name – so there is no question that he knew her. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal - but he told Walters to 'say hi to Casey for me.' Isn't one of the people that we're after a John Casey?"

"I'd like to talk to that man," Colson said quickly. "I know that you have already done a lot tonight – but could you find him? And maybe set something up?"

"Yes, sir," Cook said as he got up to leave. "He's in the casino. You know that you don't have to worry about that. I'm very happy to do anything I can."

"Al," Colson called.

Cook stopped and turned.

"Great work tonight," Colson said. "I won't forget this."

"Thank you sir," Cook said. "You know that I'm very proud to serve with you."

After Cook left, Colson picked up the picture at stared at it intently. "Well, well, well," he said. "Sarah Walker… I've been looking for you for a long time."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Chuck and Sarah left the room, Joe turned to Elise with a smile. "Well,' he said. "It looks like it's time to get this over with. How about we send me off in style?"

Elise walked to the window and stared at the lights of the strip. "In style?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

Joe walked up behind her and put his arms around her. "Come on, Lise," he said softly into her neck. "I think that you know what it means."

But Elise just twisted away from his embrace. "What is your problem?" she asked. "You have a job to do. I suggest that you get on with it."

"What's the matter?" Joe asked. "Don't be afraid. I'll be right back."

"Afraid?" Elise asked sarcastically. "Why would I be afraid? We're agents. This is what agents do. We've had our good time for the past few days. It's time to move on."

"I'm really hoping that it doesn't have to be that way," Joe said. "I care for you Lise. I don't want it to end."

"You care for me?" Elise said loudly. "Why in the hell would you say that? That was never our deal. Sure – okay – we had some hot sex for a couple of days. Nothing more. We both know that."

"I thought…" Joe said. "I thought we could really have something."

"You shouldn't have thought that," Elise said firmly. "That was never our deal. What are you – some kind of rookie?"

"So," Joe said. "You're going to look at me and tell me that you feel nothing for me."

"Of course not," Elise said. "I admire you as an agent. You were great in bed. What more do you want? Do you want me to tell you that I love you? Sorry, Joe – not going to happen. Maybe I'll see you around again some day."

"Lise," Joe whispered. "Please…"

"Agent West," Elise said as she turned angrily to face him. "This conversation is over. You have your assignment. It's time to do your job. Maybe there is something that you can learn from this. Never have feelings. Feelings are your enemy. Why do you think they tell you that a million times in training? Now shove off."

Joe just turned and walked out of the room without comment.

It was a struggle – but Elise was able to keep her composure until she was sure that Joe was out of hearing range. Then she completely lost it. She threw herself on the bed and sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "Damn you Chuck. Damn you to hell."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah had insisted that her and Chuck go separately to their room. She actually went down to the lobby first and made doubly sure that she wasn't being tailed. So when she got to the room, Chuck was already inside. He had been able to stay relatively composed – but once he got into the privacy of their room, that façade ended.

It simply broke Sarah's heart to see the tears running down his face. "Sweetie," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. "This is not your fault. You did what you had to do. Just like Elise is doing what she has to do. Don't worry - We will fix this."

Chuck shook his head. "It is my fault," he said. "It is my plan. You didn't see her face. This is going to crush her."

"I'll go get her in a while," Sarah said. "It's probably not a good idea for her to be there if Joe comes back looking for her. But first I need to take care of you."

"Can we trust him?" Chuck asked. "What do you really think? Elise says we can. But, let's face it - she is in love with him. Of course she would say that. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I really do," Sarah said. "I was really prepared to hate Joe West. I mean – he hurt you. That is close to a capital offense in my book. But I have to tell you – I saw a totally different guy today. He is in love with her too. So, yes, I think we can trust him."

"Did we crush him?" Chuck asked.

"Maybe," Sarah said. "But it couldn't be helped. He needs to be crushed to survive. We'll make it up to him."

"Go get Elise," Chuck said. "I can't bear the thought of her sitting alone in that room."

"In a few minutes," Sarah said. "She needs some time to think. Besides – I want some alone time with you."

"I'm not up for anything like that," Chuck said with as much smile as he could muster.

"I know," Sarah said. "Let's just sit in the Jacuzzi for a few minutes and hold each other."

x-x-x-x-x

Josh Pearson was sitting in the Palace Station casino. Even though the hotel wasn't in the same class as the fancy strip hotels – a casino was a casino, right? Maybe the women were a class lower – but they were a lot easier. But tonight he really wasn't doing all that well. He was down about a hundred. And the gambling wasn't the only thing he was down at. The women weren't really biting tonight either. As a matter of fact, he was just getting ready to make the cab ride to the strip when a man approached him. The man's face looked familiar – but he couldn't quite place him.

"Excuse me," the man said. "We haven't met. But I understand that you know Adam Colson. I'm really looking forward to meeting him. Do you think you can possibly make that happen?"

"I guess that depends," Pierson said. "Just who might you be?"

The man just sighed. "My name is Joe West," he said. "I have a gift for Mr. Colson."

x-x-x-x-x

After briefing Casey and Janice, Beckman turned to them. "I need you in Vegas," she said. "This is all going down in a few hours. We need to give Elise some backup."

"Yes, ma'am," both Janice and Casey said at the same time.

"Sorry, Agent Beckman," Beckman said. "I'm afraid that you need to stay here and protect Bartowski's family. Colonel Casey will need to go."

"But ma'am," Janice said. "They are going to need all the help we can give them. I need to go."

"Sorry," Beckman said as she shook her head sadly. "You have your orders. I have arranged for a flight. Your car will be here in five minutes. I'll leave you alone to say goodbye."

When Beckman got to the door, she stopped and turned. "You know, John," she said with a strange smile. "I've worked incredibly hard on this wedding - balancing meals from every major food group and demographic region of the country. It is going to happen, no matter what. If you do something stupid like get yourself killed, I'll be forced to pick out some other groom at random."

"Yes, ma'am," was all that Casey could reply. "If that does come to pass, please make sure that he has a thick skin."

Janice just looked at him with a confused look. "Thick skin?" she asked.

"Yup," Casey said with a smile. "Otherwise you'll have him shaving his head."

x-x-x-x-x

Joe sat across the table from Al Cook. The two men eyed each other very warily. Finally Cook broke the silence. "Josh tells me that you have a gift for me," he said. "I like gifts."

"No I didn't," Joe said. "I said that I had a gift for Adam Colson. You're not him. You swept me for bugs - you took my weapons - and you brought me to this room. Do I actually get to meet Colson? Or are we just wasting each other's time?"

Cook just looked at Joe across the table. "I'm sorry, Mr. West," he said. "But I'm not sure…"

At that point he was interrupted by a man coming out of the bedroom. "It's okay, Al," he said. "Agent West has come all this way. He's risked his life. It only seems fair that he gets to say his peace to me. After all, they may be his last words." Then he turned towards Joe. "So," he said. "You have a present for me? I too like presents."

"I think that you'll like this one," Joe said. "I can give you Sarah Walker."

"And why would you do that?" Colson asked skeptically. "You're her partner."

"There is an old saying," Joe said. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That just made you my very best friend."

"I take it that you're displeased with Agent Walker," Colson said. "Care to tell me why?"

"Sarah Walker is a teasing bitch," Joe said. "She flirts with you – wears next to nothing in front of you - tells you that she wants you – gets you all worked up – tells you how much she loves you – gets you to the point where you actually start to believe it – and maybe even love her back - and then makes you watch while she fucks some other guy in front of you. It's happened for the last time. She needs to pay."

"Why don't you just deal with her yourself?" Colson asked. "A single bullet to the head… and your problem is solved."

"Not good enough," Joe said. "She needs to suffer. Besides, you're the perfect cover. If I kill her, there is bound to be an investigation. My record would be tainted – even if they couldn't prove anything. But if you send the CIA one of your videos, they will accept that you were just being you. Nobody would suspect me. I'll probably get a letter of merit for trying to rescue her. I get to move on to my next assignment with a clean record."

"I'm assuming that you have a proposal," Colson said.

"I do," Joe said with a grim smile. "I deliver you Walker. I get her for an hour. Then you can do whatever creative thing that you have planned. I walk and get reassigned. We forget that we've ever met."

"Why is she here?" Colson asked.

"I believe that you've met an Agent Walters," Joe said. "What you don't know is that Walters is working with Agent Walker. They are looking for you - along with two others - Agents Casey and Beckman. Walters notified Walker that you are in the area. That's why we're here."

Colson was impressed. That explained exactly what he had just learned from the late Andy Jefferies. Maybe this West guy was on the level. After all, he was an expert at picking up emotions and body language. He, or more appropriately the intersect, knew that West was telling the truth… or at least, he was telling the truth about being angry. "What about Carmichael?" he asked. Is he in on the team?"

"I don't have anything against any Carmichael," Joe said. "Is that the guy Walker is humping? I'll deliver him too. Do anything that you want with him. I'm not emotionally involved either way."

"I would have a couple of conditions," Colson said. "First, we will tape your hour with Agent Walker - for a few reasons. It will be entertaining and it will give the CIA something to think about. Don't worry - we'll obscure anything that would identify you. I assume you're not going to be squeamish about performing in front of a camera."

"I've never done it before," Joe said. "But I'd do a lot for a shot at Sarah Walker. I guess one porn scene isn't going to hurt anybody."

"Well," Colson said with a smile. "It might hurt her. And that transitions nicely to my other condition. I have my own plans for the lovely Miss Walker – plans that are going to take several days. She needs to be in reasonably good shape when you're finished."

"Agreed," Joe said. "When would you like to do this?"

Colson just shrugged his shoulders. "The sooner, the better," he said. "Can it be tonight?"

"I think so," Joe said. "She is meeting him as we speak. I can probably catch her with her pants down – so to speak."

"Deliver her to this address," Colson said as he handed Joe a sheet of paper. "It's an old warehouse that we sometimes use. It's off the beaten path. We won't have to worry about any screaming being heard. What about Walters?"

"I'll be there in an hour," Joe said. "I have no idea where Agent Walters is. And right now, I could frankly care less."

As soon as Joe left the room with Pearson, Cook turned to Colson. "Is he on the level, sir?" he asked.

"It doesn't really matter," Colson said. "If he delivers Sarah Walker to me…"

"If he shows up with her," Cook said. "Should we kill him?"

"No," Colson said thoughtfully. "Let's give him his hour. I can't wait for the CIA to see the tape of one of their own agents attacking his partner. It promises to be quite entertaining. Then we can kill him."

x-x-x-x-x

Joe found the address easily. It was just like Colson said – an old abandoned warehouse. They were thoroughly searched – and Joe's weapon was taken from him. It didn't really matter. Chuck and Sarah's hands were cuffed behind their backs. So they were pretty much defenseless. They were wordlessly led to a room in the middle of, what could only be loosely called, the facility and roughly shoved inside.

When Sarah looked around the first thing that she noticed was Adam Colson standing there. The gloating smirk on his face was unmistakable. There was a desk, a sofa, and an unmade bed. Sitting on the opposite side of the room was a video camera mounted on a tripod. It was clearly the same camera that had recorded the gruesome image of Bryce's torture and murder. She knew better than to speak.

Colson stepped up to Sarah and gently rubbed the side of her face with the back of his hank. "Agent Walker," he said with a grin as he stepped back and overtly checked her out. His gauze started at her head and slowly made it's way down her body and back again. Then he took his right hand and placed it on Sarah's left breast. "I've been hoping to meet you for a long, long time." Then he turned to Joe. "You did it," he said. "Well done."

"Thank you," Joe said. "Do we still have a deal?"

Colson was grinning from ear to ear as he stopped softly rubbed circles on her breast and walked behind the tripod. "Of course, Agent West," he said. "Subject to the conditions that I specified to you earlier, of course. I believe that our deal was for one hour. That begins now. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I certainly hope that it's entertaining. I know that you won't disappoint me."

Joe stepped up to directly in front of Sarah and leered at her.

"Joe, please," Sarah whispered so that only Joe could hear her. "Remember our talks…"

Sarah didn't see the backhand slap coming until the last second – so she had no way of avoiding it. The force of the blow to her right cheekbone area knocked her violently to the side and into the desk. Without the use of her hands to protect herself, she stumbled against the desk and fell awkwardly to the floor. She was trying to get her bearings and shake out the cobwebs when Joe stepped over her. His voice gave her chills when he finally spoke.

"That was for kicking me."

x-x-x-x-x


	31. Sarah's Play

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are multiple major character deaths in this story. There is some adult language and situations in this chapter. It is also fairly violent._

_Okay folks. It's time for the battle of the intersects. What will Joe's actions do to the plan? Those who have wanted the story to get dark – be careful what you wish for._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Sarah's Play**

x-x-x-x-x

Elise stood leaning against Sarah's Porsche. She was waiting at the secure military section of McCarran airport for Beckman's plane to arrive. Hopefully, Casey was inside. But things were messed up. For one thing, the plane was over ten minutes late. And that was ten minutes that they didn't have to spare.

Elise was beyond panicked. Normally Chuck would have been able to calm her down – even before a tense mission. But the look on his face earlier at the hotel before they left told how truly nervous he was. It was anything but calming. And Joe wouldn't even look at her. So to say that she was freaked out, didn't come close to the truth.

It had been a very hot day in Vegas. And truthfully, the night air was starting to feel good. But feeling good was the last thing on Elise's mind at the moment.

She had already spent a lot of time pacing in front of the car. But then she realized that she was using energy – energy that she would need later. After all, she and Casey needed to get to that warehouse and back the team up for the plan to have any chance. And the timing was going to be crucial. The very last thing that they wanted to do was to tip off Colson's men of the trap that Chuck had set. That is, if it worked at all as planned. If not, Chuck and Sarah were dead. And Joe, Casey and she were more than likely next in line.

Elise was seriously tempted to leave and try and handle this by herself. But she knew that she needed Casey to have any reasonable chance. After all, he was an amazing shot. Finally, after what seemed to be a lifetime, the lights of Beckman's plane were shinning her way. The pilot was taxiing much faster than would normally be appropriate. Obviously, Casey had convinced him that it was in his best interest to get him there as soon as possible. The plane hadn't even come to a complete stop when the doors opened and Casey came bounding down the stairs.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck saw Sarah lying there after Joe slapped her - and the intersect immediately kicked in. And as much as he wanted to go after Joe, the intersect kept reminding him – Colson was the main threat. Sarah wasn't safe until Colson was neutralized. Then it would be time to deal with Joe. _What was Joe doing?_ _That isn't part of the plan. He'd batter have a good explanation_. Not wanting to blow the cover, he just yelled. "What kind of man hits a woman?" he said. "Especially when her arms are secured behind her back?"

Joe walked over to stand in front of Chuck. Then he pushed him. Without the use of his hands, Chuck was easily pushed onto the sofa. "Shut the hell up," Joe said grimly. "Just sit there and watch. Maybe you'll learn something."

Colson was operating the camera. He clearly was following Joe's movements with it. "Fifty-eight minutes," he said. "Then it's my turn. I suggest that you get on with it."

Joe walked over to where Sarah was still trying to gain her bearings. He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair and roughly pulled her to her feet. Then he dragged her over to the bed on the other side of the room. As she was standing in front of the bed, he grabbed her by the throat. "This is for teasing me," he said.

Sarah had no way to defend herself. He had completely cut off her air supply "Joe, please," was all she could manage to whisper.

"Shut up," Joe growled as he tightened his grip. "There is one thing that I want from you - and that is a single nod. I want that to be the symbol that I was always right. You want me - that you've always wanted me. After you admit that, we'll begin."

Sarah really had no choice. She was close to losing consciousness. So she did the only thing that she could.

She nodded - once.

x-x-x-x-x

Casey called out to Elise as he ran towards her. "Do you want me to drive?"

But Elise was already in the driver's seat and had started the car. She had the clutch pushed in and was revving the engine impatiently. "Just get in the fucking car," she yelled.

Casey more or less threw himself into the passenger's seat.

Elise took a moment to look at Casey. "Nevada law," she snarled, "dictates that all passengers in the front seat wear seatbelts. Violators face a seventy-five dollar fine." She then popped the clutch and the powerful engine spun the wheels with a loud squawk. "Trust me," she said. It's a law that you're going to want to obey."

x-x-x-x-x

"Fifty-three minutes," Colson said with a smirk. "And she's still completely dressed. Really, Agent West - you disappoint me."

Sarah was too busy trying to catch her breath to do anything except watch as Joe began to slowly unbutton her blouse. With her hands secured behind her back, there wasn't much she could do to stop him anyway. She tried to twist out of his reach but Joe immediately grabbed her throat again. The threat was clear. So Sarah stopped struggling. Joe smiled grimly as he recognized Sarah's submission. Once he had it completely unbuttoned, he very deliberately pulled each side open. That left Sarah standing there still gasping for breath in only her lacy bra.

"Now we're talking," Colson said as he focused the camera lens to get the sharpest possible image. "Stand to the side when you remove her bra. I want to get a good shot."

Joe just looked at Colson. "This is my hour," he said. But he stood to the side anyway. He slid his hand under the middle of her bra, between Sarah's breasts, and paused. Sarah closed her eyes to avoid his gloating look. Then Joe lifted it out of place. "That was for making me shave my head," he growled.

Sarah had finally caught her breath enough to speak. "Please, Joe," she said. "Please don't do…"

"Shut up," Joe quickly interrupted. Then, much like his attack in the laundry room, he grabbed a handful of Sarah's hair and forced her face to meet his. Again, much like the laundry room, he put his hand on her breast as he roughly kissed her.

Chuck knew that he had to turn away from the scene that was being played out – or he would lose focus. The intersect was giving him dozens of ways to kill Joe. But that would have to wait. Joe wasn't the real threat. So while Colson was intent on watching the action, Chuck quietly slipped off his fake cuffs and stepped towards him. After all, that was the plan. If he could get in a good surprise shot, this could be over quickly.

Unfortunately, Colson was not nearly as consumed with the sight of Sarah's bare breasts – or the rough scene that was being played out before him - as they had hoped. He saw Chuck coming when he was only about half way there. He backed away from the camera and faced Chuck. "Nice try," he said. "That was quite an impressive plan. Show me her boobs and then jump me while I'm distracted? But don't you think I might have suspected that you were trying something? I have to admire your guts. That actually almost worked. You might have gotten a shot in. But even if you had surprised me – there is no way to defeat me. Now you're all going to have to die."

Chuck just narrowed his eyes. "You mean," he said, "that you weren't planning on us dying before?"

Colson just nodded and grinned. "Agent Carmichael," he said. "If that is really your name, that is. You have a good point. But now you're forcing me to find some creative way that's going to be extra especially painful."

Chuck didn't turn away from Colson. But he shifted his eyes to look at Sarah. The anger at Joe's attack was still plain in his face. "Get out of here," he said. "I'll handle this."

Joe stepped away from Sarah and assumed a defensive posture. "I'm not leaving," he said. "You need help."

"No, Joe," Sarah said as she unlatched her own set of fake cuffs. "Follow the plan. We need to leave. We're not going to be any help anyway. We'll just put Chuck at a disadvantage worrying about trying to protect us."

Colson still sported his annoying grin. "How heroic," he said mockingly as he aimed a savage punch at the side of Chuck's head. "Unfortunately, you don't know who I really am."

The intersect quickly evaluated the punch. It was coming much faster than any normal man could throw. So all he could do was be defensive. Chuck quickly dodged the punch. Not suspecting even that basic of a move, Colson was off guard. The momentum of the punch caused him to stumble a bit. Had Sarah and Joe not been there, it might have been enough of an opening for the intersect to mount a counterattack. As it was, Chuck just took a step that placed himself between Colson and Sarah. "Go," he said to her firmly. "Right now."

Then Chuck smiled at Colson and assumed his fighting position. "On the contrary," he said. "I know exactly who you are. I'm afraid it's you who doesn't know who I am. Please allow me to introduce myself."

Sarah knew that she had to get out of there to give Chuck a chance. So she dragged Joe to the door. "Kick his ass, sweetie," she said. "I'll be right back."

Chuck didn't turn his head away from Colson. He just assumed a defensive posture. But the smile never left his face. "Stay safe," he said. "And Agent West – I told you what would happen if you ever touched her again. You can count on being next."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise deftly maneuvered the car around the obstacles at the airport on her way to the main road. "Where in the hell were you?" she said. "You're late."

"Stupid Air Traffic Control," Casey growled. "Wouldn't clear us to land. I had to call Beckman."

"I'll bet that was a pleasant conversation," Elise said with a grim smile.

Casey just looked with wide eyes as Elise dodged traffic. Since the roads around the airport were well traveled, there was a fair amount of traffic – even for that hour. So that forced Elise into some very aggressive driving. But she was in a zone. And she was also equipped with one of the world's highest performance vehicles. So she deftly guided the precision machine around the much slower traffic – sometimes swerving into the opposite lanes – and other times going up onto the sidewalk. "Sonofabitch," he said. "Will you be careful?"

Elise just grinned. "Screw careful," she said. "I'm always careful. You can be the one who is careful for once. I'm tired of being careful."

Elise downshifted to accelerate around a city bus, going into the opposite lane to pass it. She barely made it back into her lane in time to avoid a cab – and a head on collision."

"Shit," Casey yelled. "Are you crazy?"

"Don't worry, sweetie," Elise said sarcastically. "This is actually the one thing that I'm good at." Then she glanced at Casey and smiled. "Well," she said, "maybe not the only thing. How about - it's the only thing that I'm good at that you will ever experience?"

Elise could only grin as she noticed Casey's confused look.

"And, yes – I am crazy. Thank you for asking."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was trying hard to stay calm. She was well aware that Chuck needed her most cold Agent Walker competence right now. And to do that, she had to fight the panic that was threatening to consume her. She knew that she had to find a gun as quickly as possible. That was the only way to really defeat Colson. It was simply asking too much for Chuck to beat him one-on-one in hand-to-hand combat. But if he could just hold his own for a while… until Sarah could get back in there and shoot him. The problem was that the only guns around where in the hands of Colson's men. And that meant taking one from one of them.

They made short work of the only man who was guarding the door. But he didn't have a gun. Chuck was right. Colson knew that the one thing that could defeat him was a weapon – so he was paranoid about allowing any close to him. Colson was depending on the intersect being the only weapon in the room. And that would give him overwhelming advantage – or so he thought.

As soon as they dragged the body out of sight, Joe turned to Sarah. "Are you all right?" he asked in concern. But he quickly realized that her chest was still exposed. So he turned away.

In spite of the incredibly tense situation, Sarah found herself smiling at his discomfort. Especially in light of the play that they had just performed. So she took a moment to resituate her bra and button up her blouse. "I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked. "You got hit pretty hard. I'm so sorry - especially for the kiss and the groping. It's a shame that it was all for nothing."

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Sarah said. "You did exactly what I wanted you to do. We always knew it was a long shot that distracting Colson would allow Chuck to get the jump on him. But it was worth a shot. Besides, I'm pretty sure that you engaged the intersect. That was the main thing."

"I think we can safely say that the intersect is fully engaged," Joe said sadly. "Chuck wants to kill me - again."

Sarah nodded. "I know," she said. "But that's why I didn't tell him that I had told you to hit me – or that we were going to go quite so far in our performance. I wanted to make sure that the intersect was fully engaged. Don't worry. I'll explain things to him after it's over. I'd stay out of his way until I can talk to him."

Joe looked at the red spot that was forming on Sarah's cheek. "You're going to have a bruise," he said.

"That's why they make makeup," Sarah said. Then she turned away from Joe. "Besides," she said softly to herself. "You hit like a pussy."

Joe did a double take. "I heard that," he said. "You don't think I hit you hard enough?"

Sarah just groaned at him. "I'm teasing," she said. "If you want to worry about something, worry about how pissed I'm going to be if we don't hurry up and find a gun."

Joe just smiled. "I am worried about that," he said. "I've seen you pissed. Let's go."

But when Joe got up, he could feel Sarah grab his wrist. "I have to tell you something," she said. "Elise was not being honest with you. She was getting you ready to face Colson. Chuck and I made her. She really, really didn't want to."

"I know," Joe said with a sigh. "I kinda figured that out on the drive over here. That must have been hard for her. How is she?"

"Well," Sarah said thoughtfully. "Truthfully, she's completely devastated. She feels horrible about playing you - just like I feel horrible about playing Chuck." Then Sarah smiled. "But the good news," she said, "is we were both doing it to protect the man that we love."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck faced Colson in the middle of the room. After a few moments of sparing, they both quickly realized that the matching intersects made them very evenly matched.

Chuck had two goals. He knew that he probably couldn't defeat Colson on his own. But he could keep him contained long enough to give Sarah a chance to find a gun and get back here and finish him. And he could also hopefully inflict enough damage to slow him down enough to give Sarah an honest shot.

The problem with that strategy was that he was taking as much damage as he was dishing out. Actually a little more. Since the intersects were geared for defense, the men were finding that they only were able to land about one in every ten blows. The problem for Chuck was that the men were not equal. Colson had been a trained agent going in. So he was bigger and stronger. And that meant that the punches he was able to land had more power than Chuck's punches.

Chuck was perfectly content to go defensive. He knew that the longer he could stretch the fight out, the better chance there was of Sarah coming back and ending it.

Colson, on the other hand, was cursing himself. He knew that he had stepped in a trap. In his haste to see Sarah Walker naked and at his mercy, he had been far too reckless. He had made the key mistake of overconfidence. He had believed that the intersect could get him out of anything. Facing another intersect had never occurred to him.

Colson's intersect was quickly weighing his options. It told him that his only chance was to end this as quickly as possible and fade into the darkness. He would need to sacrifice his men – but it couldn't be helped. He would need to start over – and next time not make the same mistakes. But first things first – going for the quick win meant getting very aggressive. And while that gave Chuck quite a few counter-punch opportunities – it also meant that Chuck was absorbing some serious punishment.

One thing was for sure – this fight wasn't going to last much longer – for either man.

x-x-x-x-x


	32. Elise's Choice

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are multiple major character deaths in this story. There is some adult language and situations in this chapter. It is also fairly violent._

_Okay folks. This is what we've been waiting for. The battle of Chuck vs The Dark Intersect is well under way. Chuck is now in a battle for his – and everyone he loves – life. Not everybody is going to survive. Those who have wanted the story to get tense – here you go._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Elise's Choice**

x-x-x-x-x

As Elise approached her destination she pushed in the clutch, turned off the lights and engine, and coasted for the last quarter mile. Since they were doing over eighty at the time, the Porsche easily coasted for a long way. They actually were still going quite fast when she braked the car to a stop, just out of sight of the warehouse.

Casey turned to Elise as they got out of the car. "Nice driving," he said grudgingly. "I guess, anyway. My eyes were closed for most of it. But after all, we're here."

In spite of the panic that was threatening to consume her, Elise smiled at Casey's clear discomfort at praising her. "Thanks," she said. "Was that actually a compliment – or are you just trying to sweet talk me into seeing the other thing that I'm good at? You had your chance, you know?"

Casey did a double take as his face turned noticeably red. "Okay," he said, quickly changing the subject back into Casey mode. "We have backup standing by. We're going to sneak in there and wait for Sarah's signal. Once we get the signal, I'll message Beckman to send in the cavalry. Our plan is to keep the bad guys pinned down, survive until help arrives, and get Sarah a weapon."

Elise looked at Casey. The annoyance in her eyes was plain. "Wait a minute," she said. "Why are you lecturing me? Of the two of us, I am the one who was there when that plan was devised."

Casey just grinned back at her. "Sorry," he said. "Just making sure you was paying attention. Elise, we might get separated. Please don't shoot in my direction. We're after bad guys."

Elise just smiled back. She knew how hard it was for Casey to say anything remotely like he was sorry. "No promises," she said. "After all, I'm not that good of a shot."

x-x-x-x-x

Janice couldn't go back to sleep after Casey left. No way – she knew better than to even try. She had a horrible feeling about what was happening. And even though she trusted Chuck's plan – it was clearly risky. But then again, Janice smiled, they always were.

Kate would be up soon anyway. Janice was actually hoping that she would wake up. Imagine that – Janice Beckman wanting to hold a baby. Babies had always terrified her. But she knew - holding her littlest friend would hopefully calm her nerves. She really needed a friend to cheer her up. And Kate was the perfect one.

The main problem was, with Ellie staying there, she had to fight to get any time with Kate. And that was becoming unacceptable.

And frankly, Janice was not used to be the one sitting at home, waiting for news. It was a feeling that she didn't handle very well. She was used to being the one in the field, making the news.

So, as she sat drinking her coffee, her thoughts naturally drifted to Vegas. _I hope everything is going okay._

x-x-x-x-x

Joe and Sarah were still crouched behind a stack of pallets. "Okay," Sarah whispered as she took her shoes off. "I guess it's now or never."

Joe just looked at her. "Why did you just take your shoes off?" he asked.

Sarah grinned. "I'm un-holstering my main weapon," she said as she pointed to her big toe. "Come on, Joe. You should know that better than anybody."

"What if Casey and Elise aren't in position?" Joe asked. "Do we have a contingency?"

Sarah looked at Joe like she couldn't believe what he had just said and shook her head. "Then we're dead," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Our contingency is that they bury us."

"Well," Joe said with a grim smile of his own. "At least you didn't sugar coat it."

x-x-x-x-x

Casey and Elise quickly made their way to the left side of the warehouse. With their night vision goggles, it was fairly easy for them to enter the building from a window on the side. Colson's men were foolishly only paying attention to the front entrance. And since they clearly weren't expecting any trouble, they weren't even paying that much attention to the front. Casey could see several of them sitting around a table, plainly playing cards. He motioned Elise to take up a position about twenty feet away that had good cover – and a good angle for shooting.

Suddenly, out of the darkness came three shrill whistles. "Okay," Casey said to himself as he recognized Sarah's signal - one whistle for every five opponents. "Here we go. There are fifteen bad guys. Let the first two pass."

If Colson's men weren't all that ready for trouble, they immediately corrected that. Four men immediately ran towards the sound of the whistle with weapons drawn. The others quickly took up defensive positions.

Casey was easily able to kill two of the four men as they ran past him. He then directed his fire towards the main body of men at the front. That's when all hell broke loose. The two remaining men quickly realized they were exposed. Since the closest cover was now the office, they dived for that.

The main body of Colson's men finally realized that they were being attacked and started shooting wildly - in the general direction of Casey's shot. Elise immediately returned fire with a slow steady pace. Her goal was not to kill anybody. She knew that she wasn't that good of a shot. It was just to draw some of their fire away from Casey – and keep them pinned down as much as possible.

Unfortunately for the two men headed for the office, they had just stepped directly into a trap. Sarah and Joe were lying in wait behind the stack of pallets. And even though the men were on full alert, their attention was directed to the shooting that was going on behind them. So Sarah and Joe were able to get the jump on them fairly easily. Casey had delivered Sarah her weapon.

Sarah was clearly in no mood to screw around. Her guy was quickly lying on the ground in agony – compliments of Sarah's big toe. Her second kick had him, just as quickly, unconscious.

Joe was not quite so fortunate. He was lucky to be able to knock the gun out of his man's hand. But now he had a fight of his own to deal with. The Fulcrum agent was uncommonly large. And now that they were rolling around on the floor, his weight advantage was huge. Joe would have been in serious trouble had he been alone.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone. Sarah had the gun from her guy – but with them rolling around, she couldn't get a good shot. She didn't want to shoot Joe – she really didn't. After all, that would be hard to explain to Elise. But she also didn't have any time to waste. Chuck needed her – and seconds mattered. She finally noticed that she did have a good shot at a kick. So she was quickly two for two - two big toes and two bad guys lying on the floor no longer knowing where they were.

Sarah quickly helped Joe to his feet. "Are you okay?" she asked, shouting to be heard over the many shots that were seemingly being fired in every direction.

Joe didn't try and speak. He was still trying to catch his breath. He just nodded.

Sarah picked up the gun from the second agent and handed it to him. "Stay defensive," she shouted. "I'll be right back."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was in serious trouble from the accumulated blows he had absorbed. Even with the intersect numbing most of the pain - he had never felt anything like this before. He could no longer see out of his left eye. And his whole left side was on fire. The intersect was warning him that he only had a few seconds of consciousness remaining.

The good news was that Colson wasn't in much better shape. His face was a bloody mess. And Chuck knew by instinct that his own face looked the same – or worse.

Chuck was about ready to give up and allow himself to drift off. After all, he had done his best. He had fought the good fight. And Colson was damaged enough that Sarah with a gun would have a chance. But he was spent. No one could blame him for lying down. But then it happened. He heard the volume of shots being fired. And he instantly knew – Sarah was in danger. That was probably the only thing that could have kept him fighting.

Colson heard the shots as well. And he came to the same conclusion. This was an attack from more than just Walker and West. There were far too many shots being fired. It was all part of the trap that he had foolishly stepped into. He had to finish this before Walker could return – and finish him.

Chuck knew that he had to get out there and help Sarah. So ignoring the throbbing pain in his left side, he threw a left hand punch with all of the strength that he had left. Colson wasn't expecting an offensive burst from Chuck. Up until now, he had only counter punched. So he was barely able to dodge it. Unfortunately for him, Chuck followed up with a right hand backed by every single bit of energy that he had left. In his awkward position, Colson couldn't avoid it. It landed flush on his jaw with a sickening crack. Good night, not so sweet prince.

When Sarah bust into the room, she was stunned at the sight. Chuck was standing there. At least, she thought it was Chuck. She really couldn't see his face clearly from all of the blood. And the parts that she could see were swollen beyond recognition. Colson was lying face down on the floor in front of him.

There were a lot of competing emotions coursing through Sarah as she quickly ran over to Chuck. Concern? Of course. Anger? Most definitely. But overwhelming all of those was pride. She was proud beyond belief. Chuck had won. No – that wasn't even good enough. Her Chuck had totally kicked his ass. He had beaten him – and, like everything in his life, he had done it completely for her. Why should she be surprised? After all, he could do anything.

When Sarah got to Chuck she could see that his eyes were glassy. But he was still awake, for the moment anyway. "Is he dead," he whispered.

Sarah was beside herself. What had this bastard done? So she immediately stepped over to where Colson was lying. She pumped a round into the back of his head. "That was for the completion of my assignment," she said. "It was also for my amazing husband. How dare you hurt him, you sick bastard?" Then she fired another round into his head. "That was for the memory of our friend, Bryce Larkin," she hissed. "He was an amazing man – a true hero. We're going to miss him." Then she fired a third round into what little was left of Colson's head. "That one was for fun," she said. "Just for me – plain old Sarah."

Chuck was rapidly losing consciousness. Sarah grabbed him and tried to help him to the couch. Since he noticeably winced when she touched his left side, she wrapped his right arm around her neck and, more or less, dragged him to the sofa. Once she had him sitting she found a place on his head that wasn't bleeding and kissed him. She could tell by the many shots being fired that the battle was still raging outside. "Rest here for a second, sweetie," she said. "I have to go help the team. I'll be right back – and then we'll get you some help."

Chuck's eyes closed. "Take care of Kate," he whispered. "Promise me that you won't let her forget about me."

That caused Sarah to panic. "Don't you talk like that," she shouted. But Chuck was now clearly out. Sarah desperately grabbed his wrist and searched for a pulse. Fortunately he had one – it was actually strong and rapid. So now she was torn on if she should stay with Chuck – or go and help with the fight. She really wanted to stay - but she quickly determined that Chuck needed help. And the fastest way to get him help was to end the battle. So she gently guided Chuck down to lie on the sofa, picked up the gun from the floor, and headed for the door. She knew that tears were a luxury that she couldn't afford right now – but if the Fulcrum guys that were still alive could have seen the look on her face – they would have surrendered on the spot.

x-x-x-x-x

It was like a bad nightmare. It was just like those war game exercises in training that Elise had always hated so much. Shots were ringing out from seemingly every direction. Except this time, every few seconds a shot would splinter one of the wooden pallets she was crouched behind. This was no game. They were shooting real bullets. In training if you were shot, you were rewarded with a refreshing ten mile run - in the heat of the day – in full combat gear. But today if you were shot… there would be no reward.

Elise could see Casey. He looked perfectly at ease as she watched him pound a new clip into his gun. His face looked more like he was playing cards than fighting for his life. He was truly in his element. He was about twenty yards away – but that might as well have been two hundred yards. They were both totally pinned down.

From her position she clearly saw the fight between Joe, Sarah and the two Fulcrum guys - and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Joe and Sarah prevail. But now, Elise could only watch in horror. She could clearly see the scene playing out in front of her. It was as if she was watching it on television in slow motion. There just wasn't anything she could do about it. She could plainly see two agents going around the other side of the building. They were using stacks of pallets for cover – but Elise could clearly see them. They were going to get behind Joe. Obviously, neither Joe nor Casey had seen them.

Elise knew that she had to do something to protect Joe. At first, she tried to tell herself that it was just concern for a teammate. And that even worked – for about a tenth of a second. But she quickly knew that it was far more than that. She had only known him for a couple of weeks – and most of that time she couldn't stand him. So now, why could see her future in his blue eyes? Elise knew all about lust. Hell, she was somewhat of an expert on the subject. And she also knew that this wasn't it. This was real. And if she let him walk away, she'd regret it for the rest of her life. That's when she decided. She was going to do whatever she could to be with him.

Elise knew exactly what that meant. Joe was a CIA agent. The only way to be with him for more than a couple of weeks was as his partner. That would mean embracing this life – the one that she had grown to hate. And that wasn't even the main issue. How could she get assigned as Joe's partner? After all, she wasn't exactly high on the CIA duty roster. Maybe Chuck and Sarah could talk to Beckman for her. If there was anyone who Beckman would listen to, it was them.

But first she had to save his sorry ass. After all, what good would a successful mission be if something happened to Joe? So she sat and quickly thought about her options. There weren't any good ones. She could try and take a shot at them. But she knew that there was no way for her to hit them. They were too far away and she simply wasn't a good enough shot. She could try and get to Casey's position and tell him. But that would only expose Casey – and give their opponents one target to concentrate on instead of two. Or she could try and get to Joe. The only problem with that was she would have to cross fifty feet of totally exposed space.

But it was now or never. One more minute and Joe would lose his cover. He would then be defenseless. So she just ran. She tried to stay as low as possible. She fired her weapon in their general direction as she ran. Fortunately, that was enough to attract both Casey and Joe's attention. Unfortunately, it also attracted the attention of the remaining agents.

The two agents that were trying to ambush Joe quickly found themselves caught in the crossfire from three different directions. Realizing their poor position, they immediately broke off their attack and dived for whatever cover they could find. But Elise quickly became the target of the eight Fulcrum Agents that remained at the front.

It was at that point that Sarah came bursting out of the office. It was also the exact time that a percussion grenade blew open the front door.

Beckman's cavalry had finally arrived.

x-x-x-x-x


	33. The Cost of Victory

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_Warning: There are multiple character deaths in this story. I know that I've been saying that for a while now. But Team Bartowski will have multiple deaths in this chapter._

_Chuck won. He defeated the Dark Intersect - but at what price? And what will that do to the team? And what about Elise?_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**The Cost of Victory**

x-x-x-x-x

It took a moment for Colson's men to recover from the blast from the grenade. But once the dust had settled and they saw the overwhelming force from the Las Vegas FBI office that was pouring into what used to be the door to the warehouse, they quickly surrendered. After all, they may have appeared to worship Colson – but none of them were that eager to die for him.

Sarah quickly appraised the scene. As soon as she was sure that the battle was over, she quickly screamed for a medic and turned and ran back into the office. She walked over to the couch where Chuck was lying and sat on the floor in front of him.

Honestly, perhaps the longest three minutes of Sarah's life was sitting there waiting for the medics to arrive. Chuck was clearly in bad shape. The frustrating thing was there really wasn't anything that Sarah could do for him. He was still unconscious. She didn't have to check for a pulse, because his breathing was clearly labored. But at least that meant he was still breathing. Every once in a while he would cough. It was plain that he was coughing up blood. Sarah needed to touch him. But she couldn't find a spot on his body that wasn't hurt. The last thing that she wanted to do was to hurt him more. So she settled for gently stroking his hair – as the tears ran down her face. And as she sat there, she got angry. How much sacrifice could they expect from him?

One thing that she did do was walk over and make doubly sure that Colson was dead. She would never again make the mistake of assuming a bad guy was dead. It had bit her too often. And she was secretly hoping that he would still be maybe just a little bit alive – so she could relieve some frustration by killing him again. But seeing that half of Colson's head was missing… that was out. She had to settle for a mostly symbolic kick to his lifeless body. It might have been only symbolic – but it actually felt good enough that she kicked him again.

When the paramedics finally burst into the room, they had to semi drag Sarah out of the way. They worked quickly and efficiently, as they always did. One cut away Chuck's shirt and called off his vitals while the other started an IV. It took only about a minute before they were loading him onto the gurney. They were just finishing strapping him in when Casey walked into the room. He glanced at Chuck and then walked up to Sarah.

Sarah's heart immediately leapt into her throat. She could tell by the look on his face that something was horribly wrong. "What?" she asked.

Casey opened his mouth to answer – but no words would come. Finally he was able to whisper. "Elise," he said.

Sarah knew the answer before she asked the question – but she asked anyway. "What happened?" she asked quickly. "How is she?"

Again, Casey had to blink the tears out of his eyes before he could answer. "She got shot," he said. "Joe is with her. She is on the way to the hospital – but they don't think she has any chance of making it there." Casey then turned so that Sarah couldn't see his face – but she could hear the emotion in his voice. "Crazy kid," he said softly. "Always wanting to be a hero."

x-x-x-x-x

Janice was still sitting at the table, drinking her third cup of coffee when General Beckman walked up. She was on the phone. The last words that Janice heard her say was "expect us in thirty."

Janice's heart was into her throat. "What?" she asked pointedly. Okay, so it didn't follow proper decorum. She was speaking to her superior officer. But right now that didn't matter at all.

But if Beckman noticed her lack of proper decorum, she let it slide. She faced Janice and took a deep breath. "The mission was a success," she said. "Colson has been killed. Six members of his gang were killed and nine captured. We're working on rounding the rest of them up now."

That was not good news – it was great news. But Janice could tell by the look on her face that the news wasn't all good. "Mom," she whispered. "What about Casey?"

"Colonel Casey is fine," Beckman quickly said. "The only casualties were Chuck and Elise."

"Casualties?" Janice asked with a cry. "What does that mean?"

"Both are in emergency surgery," Beckman said. "It's too soon to know much about Chuck. Agent Walters is not expected to survive. She technically died on the trip to the hospital – but they were able to revive her. They promise to do everything that they can for her – but her odds are almost zero."

Janice knew that she was more emotional than she should have been. After all, this is why spies were trained to not have feelings in the first place. There was never a question if one of your teammates was going to be killed on a mission. The only questions were when it was going to happen – and how many times. But that knowledge currently wasn't helping her one bit. The tears quickly filled her eyes. "Oh my God," she cried. "Elise… No."

The General was obviously shaken up herself – but was also obviously better at hiding it. "We have to go to Vegas," Beckman said softly. "And make arrangements for her funeral. Do you know anything about her last wishes?"

Janice couldn't speak. She was too busy trying to not totally break down in front of her commanding… well, her mom.

Beckman took a deep breath. "I've ordered my plane back to LAX," she said. "It will be there as soon as we can get there. Wake up Doctors Bartowski and Woodcomb."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah followed Chuck's ambulance to the hospital in her Porsche. She felt herself wondering why they weren't going faster. Then she realized – they were doing eighty. Casey was in Janice's Mercedes – and having a hard time keeping up.

Sarah had been at the hospital for a grand total of ten minutes – and was already going stir crazy. Was there any place in the world less fun to be in than a hospital waiting room? If there was, then she hadn't found it. It was seven in the morning in Las Vegas. That meant that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was already approaching ninety. But the waiting room was cold, dark, and completely depressing. The worst part was that nobody was telling them anything.

The good news was that Chuck was apparently going to be okay. He had three broken ribs and one had punctured his left lung. He also had a hairline fracture of his left cheekbone along with a moderate concussion. He could probably count on some pretty robust headaches for a few days. He was currently in surgery to remove his spleen and repair his ribs. But everything else was, more or less, just topical cuts and bruises. They would all heal in a few days. The doctor promised they would come and get Sarah as soon as he was in recovery. But that wouldn't be very long at all. If everything went well, they were going to make him get out of bed and walk this afternoon. Another day in the hospital, a couple weeks of taking it easy, and he would be as good as new.

But when the topic switched to Elise, the mood changed dramatically. It became cold facts – and nothing else. She had been shot three times. Two were relatively minor flesh wounds. But the third was to her chest. Sarah tuned out the morass of technical mumbo jumbo as he described in medical terms the exact position of the entry and exit wounds.

As happy and relieved as Sarah was after hearing the news about Chuck, her heart went out to Joe as he stood there listening. She knew how hard it was to worry if someone you love was going to survive. She felt it too. And he was in the ambulance when her heart stopped. That had to be devastating – imagining that it was happening again.

Joe's clothes were a bloody mess from the warehouse when he was franticly trying to stop Elise's bleeding. Sarah tried to gently talk him into going to the hotel quickly to change. After all, it was a five minute cab ride. And Elise was going to be in surgery for a long time yet – hopefully anyway. But there was no way to get Joe to even think about leaving. So they found him some scrubs to wear. It struck Sarah that Joe actually looked more like a doctor standing there – than the doctor did.

Actually, the one besides Joe who was taking it the hardest was Casey. Sarah had never seen him openly cry. But, after all, he and Elise shared a special bond. He clearly had a kid sister thing going with her. Elise was the one person, except maybe Chuck, who saw through his tough guy persona. And now they were both fighting for their life.

All they would tell them was that Elise was currently in surgery, she would be for several more hours, and that her odds of surviving the surgery were less than ten percent. If she did survive the night, her chances of surviving the next day would go up to around fifty-fifty. Sarah was surprised that they would quote odds – but, then again, this was Vegas.

But the message was clear – from the words they used - to the expressions on their faces - to their body language. Prepare for the worst.

x-x-x-x-x

Janice had never spent a more frantic twenty minutes in her life than trying to pack for the fight to Las Vegas. Oh, not for her. She and Casey had emergency bags packed at all times. A spy never knew when they would have to pick up and be on a plane in a moments notice. And Ellie and Devon had just packed bags to stay at home base for a few days. So they were all set. The problem was Kate. What would she need for a trip that might last for a few days? Of course there were the obvious things – like diapers, formula, clothes and … _Oh my God, what else?_

It really didn't help that every thirty seconds Ellie would turn to her and say – did you think of… Finally she had to turn to her. "Ellie, you know that I love you," Janice said. "I also know that you're trying to be helpful. But if you say another word to me before we're on the plane – I will be forced to shoot you."

Janice could tell by the half smile that Ellie was trying to hide that her point had been made.

The short flight to Las Vegas was uneventful. General Beckman's plane was very comfortable. The General spent the entire flight in her office. She was clearly still directing the effort to capture Colson's men that hadn't been at the warehouse. Current estimates were that there were still ten men not in custody. Without Colson protecting them, they really didn't have anywhere to go. But still – it would be nice to have them in cuffs.

As Janice sat on the plane, she couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia from overwhelming her. This was the very plane that had taken her to L.A. - and started her new adventure only a year and a half ago. She sat and smiled as she reflected on how much her life had changed in those eighteen months. She barely knew Chuck then. She wrongly assumed that he was just Sarah's toy – the current phase she was going through. _How wrong was that?_ And of course – there was Casey. She was now engaged to a simply amazing man. Imagine that. Janice Beckman wanting to spend the rest of her life with one man. Who'd have thunk it? But Janice was finally brought out of her reflection by the sight of Kate grinning at her from her child seat that was strapped in the seat next to her. Then there was that – she now had a tiny friend… a very special tiny friend.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was deep in that blurry fog that was half way between being awake and being asleep. All he knew for sure was that something was wrong. Every breath that he took was starting to hurt like hell. Not only that, his right hand seemed to be stuck. So he just relaxed and tried to concentrate on opening his eyes.

When he finally was able to pry his eyes open, the mystery of his hand was quickly solved. Sarah was sitting next to him and had it in a death grip. _She looks so tired_. He tried to squeeze her hand but quickly found that he didn't have the strength to do even that. So he just looked at her. Finally Sarah realized that his eyes were open – and the smile that came to her face - wow. It took Chuck a couple of tries but he was finally able to whisper. "Hello, gorgeous," he said.

Sarah didn't say anything at first. She just leaned over and kissed him. She was clearly being very cautious. Her lips barely touched his.

"What's our status?" Chuck whispered. "Did Colson escape?"

"Chuck," Sarah said. "You're hurt. Don't worry. You're going to be fine. But you had a collapsed lung. So the doctors said it would be better if you didn't try and talk for a few hours – okay?"

Chuck winced from the pain. "But…" he said.

"Chuck," Sarah said. "You're in pain. That's what woke you up. Let me show you something." She guided his hand to the control that was on the side of the bed. "When you're hurting, press this button. They want you to go back to sleep."

Chuck could quickly feel the drug course through his system. "That feels so good," he whispered with a relieved sigh.

"Sweetie," Sarah interrupted. "I'm serious. No talking. I'll tell you everything as long as you don't talk. Deal?" Sarah wasn't being totally truthful. She wasn't going to tell him anything about Elise. Hopefully he wouldn't ask. But he was in no condition to worry about her right now – and she didn't know anything anyway.

Even in his condition Chuck recognized Sarah's tone. Disobey at your extreme peril. So he just nodded.

"Colson's dead," Sarah said. Responding to the unasked question in his eyes, she quickly smiled. "Yes, sweetie, I'm very sure. But don't worry. You didn't kill him. I did. You beat him, Chuck. When I came in to the room to shoot him, he was lying unconscious on the floor." Then Sarah lifted the hand that she still had in her death grip and kissed it. "I know that it sounds corny," she said. "But I need to say this to you. I'm so proud of you that I could cry." And, indeed, Sarah had to blink back the tears. "You're my hero – my white knight. And I know all about the damsel in distress, reward thing. I'm afraid that's going to have to wait for a few days – but make no mistake, its coming."

Chuck just smiled.

Sarah grinned back – for a second. Then her face got serious. "I need to tell you something," she said hesitantly. "You shouldn't be mad at Joe. I told him before the mission that I wanted him to hit me and really sell that he was about to rape me. I wanted to make sure that we fully engaged the intersect. I'm sorry if that hurt you."

Chuck's face showed his concern. "You played me?" he asked.

Now Sarah couldn't blink back the tears. "Sweetie," she said quickly. "I'm so, so sorry. I just wanted to give you every advantage against him. I didn't want…"

Chuck just smiled as he interrupted her. "Sarah," he whispered. "I'm teasing you. I had actually already figured that out."

Sarah knew that she should be pissed. And it was there somewhere. But she was far too relieved. "Sonofabitch," she said with a sigh. "You just scared me to death. You are going to pay for that. You're officially cut off for two days."

Chuck just smiled. Being cut off for two days was so moot – and naturally, Sarah knew it. "If I'm already cut off, I might as well ask," Chuck whispered. "How is Kate?"

"What was our deal?" Sarah asked firmly. "Talk again and see what happens. I might just cut you off for a couple more days. And, trust me – if I want to, I can make being cut off quite hard – if you get my meaning." But she couldn't keep up the fake anger for long. "Kate is fine," she said with a grin. "She is in the waiting room with Janice. If you'll take a nap, when you wake up I'll bring her in to see you."

x-x-x-x-x

Once Janice, Ellie, and Devon got to the hospital with Kate, they saw Casey and Joe sitting there. Janice went directly to Casey. The pitiful look on his face simply broke her heart. There was a time in the not too distant past when his obvious concern for Elise would have made her a little jealous - but not any more - because she finally understood the bond that Casey and Elise shared. It was not romantic at all. And truthfully, Janice felt the same concern. So she wrapped her arms tightly around him and hung on as tightly as she possibly could.

There was one bit of news – but it was very good news. Chuck was now in recovery and Sarah was in there with him waiting for him to wake up. But there was still no word on Elise. As it turned out, Elise's surgeon was a friend of Devon's. They had served their first year of residency together. So he went off to see if he could get any real information.

Naturally, Ellie and Janice were curious about the details of the mission. "There are some things I don't understand," Ellie said as she smiled at Kate in her arms. "Why didn't they just send a thousand agents to surround the hotel and catch this Colson guy?"

"There are some good reasons," Casey said. "For one thing, we didn't know that Colson was there until Joe actually met him. He was always very cautious of being caught. The worst thing that could have happened was to tip him off and let him get away. And we weren't sure how connected he was. We didn't want to tip him off by listening to our plans. It's the same reason we didn't raid the warehouse. It was very possible that Colson wasn't there. It could have very possibly been a decoy testing us. Beckman didn't dispatch our backup until I called her after I heard Sarah's signal. That's why it took a few minutes for them to get there."

Finally Devon came back into the waiting room. Janice, Casey, Ellie, and Joe were on him as soon as he stepped foot into the room. "I have some news," he said. "Elise survived the surgery – barely. Technically, she died three different times on the table. But they were able to revive her all three times. She is certainly not out of the woods. She lost two ribs and a significant part of one lung. But she is clearly a tough cookie. I think there is now reason to be cautiously optimistic."

To say that the news was great was a silly understatement. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. They had already come to accept the fact that Elise was gone. Joe completely lost it. It was now no longer the pain of mourning – it was now the pain of renewed hope – and the associated worry that came along for the ride. He more or less collapsed into the first person that he could. And that happened to be Janice. Janice wouldn't pretend to accept Joe as a friend. She wouldn't even pretend that she was happy about his new romance with Elise. That would take a lot of work – and might never completely happen. But whatever personal issues they had between them certainly didn't apply at a time like this. So she gently rubbed his back as he tried to compose himself.

Janice immediately understood the implication of Devon's news. And one look at Casey's eyes quickly told her that he was thinking the same thing. Even if Elise survived, her days as a field agent were over. With less than two lungs there was simply no way for her to ever pass a recertification exam – even by sleeping with an instructor. But that was tomorrow's problem. Today was a time for celebration. "So," she said to Devon with a grin. "Team Bartowski had multiple deaths on this mission – but nobody actually died."

Devon just smiled. "She's not completely out of the woods yet," he cautioned. "But yes, you could say that and it would be technically accurate. You would be so misleading as to be evil – but you would be technically accurate."

Joe lifted his head from Janice's shoulder. "I'd like to see her," he said.

"She is in recovery," Devon said. "She is still unconscious. And she will be for several hours still. But it probably wouldn't hurt anything for you to sit by her. I'll ask her doctor."

"What about Chuck?" Casey asked.

"Chuck is good," Sarah said as she walked up and held out her arms to Ellie in a clear signal that she wanted Kate. "I talked to him for a minute. He is taking a nap. But when he wakes up, I promised him that I would bring in Kate to see him."

Ellie smiled as she handed Kate to Sarah – reluctantly. _That's all we need – a third person to compete for holding Kate._ "The nurses aren't going to like taking a baby into the recovery room," she said.

Sarah was too busy getting reacquainted with Kate to answer right away. After all, it had been a whole day – and the look of recognition on Kate's face brought tears to her eyes. But finally Sarah was able to blink them away. After all, Kate couldn't be the only person in the room who wasn't bawling. "Too bad," she said as she grinned back at her smiling baby daughter. "Let them try and stop me."

x-x-x-x-x


	34. Sin City

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_I just couldn't kill Elise. I… just couldn't. I promised that Team Bartowski would have multiple deaths – but like Devon said – I was evilly deceptive._

_The battle is over. Team Chuck won. Now it's time to decide what to do with the rest of their lives. Some promises were made…_

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**Sin City**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck couldn't believe how much better he felt after his nap. The only really tender spot was his broken ribs. Everything else was just sore – but even that was fading fast. Of course, the drugs were a big help. The nurses actually made him get up and walk for a while. Naturally, he tried to sweet talk his way out of it. But when he looked to Sarah for some support, she just grinned. "Sorry, sweetie," she said. "I'm willing to baby you for a while once we get home but the sooner you get up and walk, the sooner we can get out of here. And don't forget – now that this is all over, I still have a bet to collect."

She did keep her promise and brought Kate in to see him. The nurses didn't say a single word. It was hard to tell who was enjoying it more – Chuck, Sarah, - or Kate. Sarah had put her in the bed next to Chuck. They eventually discovered that she loved it when they moved the position of the hospital bed. Chuck soon had her laughing out loud by raising and lowering the head of the bed. The pure sound of Kate laughing, as much or more than any drugs, was responsible for Chuck feeling better.

Chuck was actually making amazing progress. They had taken out his IV and moved him to a real room. Sarah finally felt that it was time to tell him about Elise - at least, now that the news was more hopeful. And actually, Chuck took the news better than she expected. Of course, he insisted on going in to the recovery room and sitting with Joe for a while. Joe clearly was a little nervous with being alone with Chuck – but he was quickly reassured. Naturally, Elise was still hours away from waking up. It gave Chuck and Joe a real chance to honestly talk for the first time. They were able to clear a lot of things up.

Finally Sarah came in and put her foot down. It was time for Chuck to get some rest. And when Sarah put her foot down – you took notice. Chuck turned the tables and demanded that Sarah get some rest herself. Two could play at this putting their foot down game. After all, she looked so beat – not really tired – just emotionally spent. So she took Kate out to Ellie and promised that she would come back and take a nap with him.

Chuck was still taking pain medicine. He would be for a few more days. After all, he was still pretty sore – but now it was in the form of pills. And they were clearly doing a good job – so good that when Sarah got into bed and carefully snuggled with him, his hands started to wander.

"Whoa there bud," Sarah laughed in surprise as she grabbed the hand that was fumbling with the clasp of her pants. "Don't start something that you can't finish. You're cut off – remember?"

"I know," Chuck said with his classic smile. "But you're not, right?"

Sarah grinned as she noticed the look on his face. So she reached down and unfastened her own pants – and rolled over to give him a better angle. "Good point," she said. "Are you sure you're up for this? We're supposed to be relaxing."

Chuck just grinned as he started to slide his hand south. He then nodded as he kissed her gently. "Actually," he whispered. "You're the one who is supposed to be relaxing. I'm going to help you. Besides – I'm thinking new family tradition."

His warm breath just felt so good on her neck. Sarah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and just allowed herself to melt into his expert touch. "You always know the perfect way to relax me," she whispered. And it was indeed, very relaxing. After all, it had been a long time since they had… Suddenly Sarah realized – it had only been yesterday. "Oh well," she whispered to herself as she felt Chuck kiss her neck. "That's long enough."

x-x-x-x-x

Elise finally was able to get her eyes to open. It took a long while before she could focus them. What a dream that had been. But she was clearly in a hospital room. And judging by the morass of monitors that were beeping next to her, someone obviously was in serious trouble. It actually took a long moment before she looked down and realized – it was her in the hospital bed. It wasn't a dream. So that explained why she felt so horrible. "What happened?" she asked to the empty room. Or at least she tried to ask. Her throat felt like used sandpaper.

"Here," Joe said as he held a straw with a cup of ice water to her lips. Plainly she was wrong about the room being empty. _Why is Joe dressed like a doctor? Is this still a dream?_ "Just take a sip," he said. "It will feel good on your throat."

And indeed, it felt heavenly. "What happened?" she asked again. This time the words actually came out.

"You were shot," Joe said. "Don't you remember?"

Elise just shook her head.

"Lise," Joe said as he kissed her forehead. He was clearly struggling to keep his composure. "You scared me to death. You got shot trying to rescue me. We… I… almost lost you today. You're never, ever going to do anything like that again – ever - agreed?"

Elise didn't really know what Joe was talking about. And frankly, she didn't care. He just looked so incredibly spent. But his eyes looked peaceful. That was a hopeful sign. And all she knew was that she had to set the record straight. "I'm so sorry," she said. "Earlier at the room - I didn't mean any of that. I didn't want to play you... I just needed you to be safe. I didn't know of any other way – please… I'm sorry."

"Lise," Joe said with a smile. "I know. Chuck and Sarah told me the whole story. But you can't worry about that right now. You need all of your energy to get better. So do you think we could maybe wait and have this discussion some other time? Perhaps in a month or so when you're more up to it… If it will make you feel better, I promise that I'll give you every chance to make it up to me."

Elise groaned. She noticed for the first time how much pain she was in. It was really starting to become an issue. "Don't make me laugh," she said. "It hurts."

"Okay," Joe said as he showed Elise the same pain button that Sarah had earlier shown Chuck. "They wanted you to wake up for just a minute. But you don't have to be in pain. You need to go back to sleep for a while."

"Joe, wait," Elise frantically said as she felt the soothing cloud of morphine enter her bloodstream. "Do you think that maybe we could work something out? I'll talk to Beckman. Maybe they can assign us to work together. I know that I'm going to be down for a while…"

"I'll make you a deal," Joe said with a smile. "Right now, work is the farthest thing from my mind. If you will promise to stop worrying and take a nap, we'll have this discussion when you wake up and you're more up to it. Okay? Don't think about that right now. You need every bit of your concentration on getting better. We have the rest of our lives to worry about what we're going to do. It's all going to work out – I promise."

Elise grabbed his hand. "Please don't leave," she said.

"Lise," Joe said as he leaned down to softly kiss her. "Trust me. You couldn't drag me out of this hospital. Get some rest, okay? I'll be right here when you wake up – and for as long as you want me."

Elise quickly felt herself falling back into the healing cloud of unconsciousness. _As long as you want me - that sounded nice_. But then she could have sworn that she heard Joe say, "I love you." Or maybe she just dreamed it. But either way… It felt… so… wonderful… _I… love…you… too…_

x-x-x-x-x

Casey and Janice, along with Ellie and Devon wondered what to do. They had been in to see Chuck. He clearly was going to be okay. They probably would have released him by now – but he wanted to wait until he had a chance to talk to Elise. Beckman had apparently made it very clear that they were to get every consideration possible.

To be honest, they had grown weary of the waiting room. And Elise wasn't going to be up to any visitors for many hours yet. So Sarah held out the keys to the two rooms at the Wynn. "This is a five minute cab ride," Sarah said. "There is no way that Joe or I are leaving. So you might as well go and get some rest. I'll call you when you can see Elise."

Now, the question was – who was going to take Kate? Sarah thought for a brief moment that she was going to have to step between Janice and Ellie. Or maybe she wouldn't step in right away. After all, that might be interesting. But finally Ellie gave in before any real hostilities started.

Sarah walked over to where Ellie was clearly pouting. "I'm sorry that you don't get Kate," she whispered with a grin. "But I gave you the good room. Enjoy the Jacuzzi."

But Ellie would not be consoled. "What good would that do?" she asked sullenly. "We didn't bring our suits."

Sarah just looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Ellie," she said with a laugh. "You are really not good at this seduction thing, are you? Since you're pissed at Janice, I guess I'll have to be the one to tell you this. You're in Vegas, sweetie. Even if you had brought your stupid bathing suits – leave them packed in the suitcase. Take your hot fiancé, open a bottle of champagne, put the 'do not disturb' sign on the door, and…" Then she started to whisper in Ellie's ear.

Ellie's face instantly turned beet red and her eyes widened. "Oh my goodness," she said. "Really? In the Jacuzzi?"

Sarah nodded approvingly. "He'll worship you," she said with a silly grin. "Just promise that you'll never, ever tell me what happens next. I don't want to know."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were back in his hospital bed – more because they didn't have anyplace else to sit than because they were tired. So they eventually found themselves in their favorite position. Chuck was on his back with Sarah on her side with her head on his chest. She was obviously being very careful of his sore ribs.

"I saw you talking to Beckman," Sarah said. "What did she want?"

"She wanted to know our plans," Chuck said. "I told her that I promised you that after this mission we'd be done."

"What did she say?" Sarah asked.

"She wants us to think about staying active," Chuck said. "She promised that they wouldn't ask us to go on missions. I don't think they want to lose the intersect."

Sarah lifted her head from his chest to smile softly at him. "That's not it," she said. "She is clearly rewarding you. They just want an excuse to keep us on the payroll. What did you tell her?"

"That I had made a promise," he said. "That I would never break a promise to you unless you agreed."

"That's so sweet," Sarah said as she reached over to kiss him. "But I don't think she wants us to go on missions. Like I said, it's a reward for what you've done."

"You mean what we've done," Chuck said insistently. "So, you want to stay an agent?"

"Well," Sarah said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind what she's talking about. It would allow us to raise our family comfortably. Money would never be an issue."

"There is always the chance that something would come up and they would ask us for something," Chuck said. "You know how good a CIA promise is…"

"I know, sweetie," Sarah said with a smile. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

x-x-x-x-x

Casey and Janice finally made it to the Wynn. Luckily, the room had two queen sized beds. So Janice was able to lay Kate down on one. She surrounded her with pillows so there would be no chance of her rolling off the bed. But she was out. After all, Kate had a long day by her standards as well.

Casey and Janice just cuddled on the other bed. They weren't really sleepy. After all, spies were pretty accustomed to going without much sleep. They were honestly, simply emotionally spent. They had ridden a roller coaster already today. First, with the devastating news that Elise wasn't going to make it - then the euphoria of hearing that she might have a chance. Now, it was back to being depressed. The realization was setting in that, even if Elise survived, she was finished as an agent. And it was still going to be many hours before they would be able to see her.

Where it was originally Casey who was taking the news about Elise the hardest, it was now Janice. She had taken Elise under her wing as an agent. And while her progress had been at times painfully slow, there had been progress. For it to just be over like this was hard for Janice to get her arms around. And it made her emotional – about everything.

"I'm sorry that my mom went all nuts on us about the wedding," Janice said. "I know that it has been driving you crazy."

"It's okay," Casey said. They were keeping their voices quiet because of Kate – but they needn't have bothered. Kate was out. They could have started up a chainsaw and she wouldn't have noticed. "She is really getting into it, isn't she?"

"She really has," Janice said. "I've appreciated you being such a good sport about it. I know it's not your thing."

"Don't worry," Casey said. "It's fine."

"It's not fine," Janice said. "I've let my mom trap you into something that you're not comfortable with. I'm sorry. I just want you to know that I don't care where or how we get married – as long as we do."

Casey pulled her in closer. "Me too," he said.

"So," Janice said. "Let's get married tonight. We're in Vegas. Ellie can take Kate for a night."

Casey didn't respond for a long time. Finally he spoke. "As tempting as that sounds," he said. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stick to our plan."

Janice was stunned. "Really?" she asked.

Casey let out a sigh. "Here's the thing," he said. "Your dad always dreamed of the day when he would show off his beautiful daughter to the world. I sort of know how he felt. The honest truth is that I'm sort of looking forward to having you on the cover of every magazine in the country. I want the rest of the world to know how special you are. I know that sounds sort of selfish."

Janice rolled over to face Casey. "It doesn't sound selfish at all," she said. "It sounds unbelievably sweet. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Casey said. "I'm very sure."

Janice wrapped her arms around Casey's neck and kissed him.

"Besides," Casey said as soon as the kiss broke. "I'm actually looking forward to meeting the president. I have a couple of things that I'd like to mention to him…"

x-x-x-x-x

The next time that Elise opened her eyes, it felt so great that Joe was holding her hand. Except, when she looked over, it wasn't Joe. Instead, Chuck was sitting there. He was in his own hospital gown – and a robe. "Where's Joe?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"It's nice to see you too," Chuck laughed. "Don't worry about Joe. He's been sitting here for twenty hours. Sarah told him if he didn't take a nap, she was going to reintroduce him to her big toe. She just went to get him when we saw you starting to wake up."

"I've been out for twenty hours?" Elise asked.

"Twenty eight hours," Chuck said with a grin. "Joe has been sleeping for two hours. You were in surgery for six hours. It's eight in the morning – the next morning."

Elise noticed Chuck's dress for the first time. "I didn't mean it like that," she said. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better than you," Chuck laughed. "What were you thinking? I compliment your lungs – and then you go and let yourself get shot in one."

Elise just smiled. "You're always the hero," she said. "I wanted to know what it felt like."

Chuck had to blink back the tears as he squeezed her hand. "Well, now you know," he said. "There will never again be a need to wonder – or to do anything so stupid. We almost lost you."

"Chuck," Elise said. "I need a favor. Do you think you could talk to Beckman for me?"

Chuck just nodded. "What about?" he asked.

"I know that Joe needs to go to his next assignment," Elise said. "And I know that I'm not going to be ready to go with him for a while. But do you think you could talk her into giving him a few days? She'll listen to you. Maybe until I'm out of the hospital? And then maybe pull some strings and get me assigned as his partner?"

Chuck just smiled. "You know that I would do anything for you," he said. "But, I'm afraid that you can't be Joe's partner."

Elise's eyes filled with tears. "Chuck, please," she pleaded. "I know that I'm going to have to pull some fast ones to get recertified. But I'm hoping that Sarah can help me. Maybe you can help me talk her into it? You know that I would never ask her to cheat… I'm desperate."

Chuck squeezed Elise's hand. "Listen to me very carefully," he said. "First, you don't ever need my help in talking Sarah into doing you a favor. She would do anything for you – absolutely anything. She loves you – just like I do. Cheating some stupid CIA procedures doesn't even begin to come close to the limit. I'm not even sure what would. But none of that is going to be necessary. Joe didn't tell you?"

Elise just shook her head – obviously confused.

"Joe quit," Chuck said.

"Quit?" Elise repeated. "Quit what?"

"He quit," Chuck said. "Resigned - he is no longer an agent. He told Beckman that he was taking another position. She gave him a hard time. But he told her that he didn't like himself when he was Agent West - his new full time job was to take care of you. I think he might be turning Republican."

Elise was clearly confused as she tried to figure out what Chuck was trying to tell her – and then the light bulb came on. Her face bloomed into a huge smile. "Really?" she asked. "He told her that? He's going red?"

"Really, really," Chuck said with a grin as he reached down and kissed her brow. "But that's all I'm telling you. After all, I'm ruining his big romantic moment. You have to pretend not to know."

x-x-x-x-x

The gang was gathered in Elise's room. There were far more people in the room than hospital policy concerning visitors allowed. Since two of the visitors were doctors, the nurses pretended that they didn't notice.

Chuck had been released from the hospital a couple of days ago. He was actually feeling pretty frisky. His ribs were still very sore – but otherwise, he felt great.

Elise was going to be transferred in two days by military medi-vac to Ellie and Devon's hospital. She was doing a lot better. Even the cautious Vegas doctors had to now admit - she was out of the woods and on her way to a semi normal recovery. But she was still many days away from going home.

Beckman had already gone back to Washington. Naturally, Joe, Devon and Ellie would accompany Elise. Ellie was clearly looking forward to continue using the Jacuzzi and the suite at the Wynn for a few more days – but not nearly as much as Devon was.

Chuck and Sarah were leaving for home from the hospital. Sarah was going to drive them home in her car. She grudgingly had to promise to take it easy.

Casey and Janice offered to take Kate in Janice's car. After all, it was a lot roomier for the car seat than the Porsche. And besides, Janice wanted her last few moments of being surrogate mom. Although Chuck had taken to constantly teasing her about her poor judgment in taking a baby to someplace called Sin City.

The team was in high spirits. Actually that didn't come close to the truth. They were positively giddy - and why not? The mission was a success. Everyone had survived. Casey and Janice's wedding was all planned. And now, they even had another wedding to plan for. It had turned into an impromptu engagement party for Joe and Elise. Naturally, Elise couldn't have any champagne – so grape juice had to suffice.

Finally, Chuck pushed everyone out of the room. He didn't have to reach for Elise's hand - she was already holding it out to him. "Thank you for being my partner," Chuck said. "Even if it wasn't for that long – you were great."

Elise looked at him with a silly grin. "None of your partners last that long," she said with a laugh. "I guess that's why they call you the agent killer. Hopefully, Sarah can last a while longer this time."

Chuck nodded. "I also want to tell you how much I love you," he said. "Are you sure that this thing with Joe is what you want?"

Elise's eyes sparkled as she quickly nodded. "I'm very sure," she said. "He's really a great guy. I hope that you'll give him a chance. I know that you have issues…"

"Don't worry about that," Chuck interrupted. "Joe and I had a long talk while you were sleeping. It turns out that he was always Republican. He must have meant something else when he said that he was going red. He is really crazy about you. So, as long as he takes care of you – I think we can be friends."

Elise smiled – and it lit up the room.

"Just so that we're clear," Chuck said with a smile. "If I ever see his hand on my wife's chest again…"

Elise's strength was obviously quickly returning - because she pulled Chuck to her and wrapped her arm around his neck. "If you see that," she said. "Let me know… I'll hold him down for you."

"Deal," Chuck said with a smile as he reached down to kiss her. "See, I told you in the car. Everything would work out if you would just hang in there."

Elise nodded with a sly smile. "You did," she agreed. "I never should have doubted you. Of course, you didn't mention that I would lose half a lung..."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah's three and a half hour drive home actually took three and a half hours. That was definitely a record for Sarah and her Porsche. She clearly was taking this easy thing seriously. But finally, they were home. Home alone. Sarah couldn't remember the last time she could say that. And they were going to be alone all night. Janice had just called and begged to be able to keep Kate at their place for the night.

As soon as they were in the house, Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand and led him to the bedroom. Although she was very gentle of his left side, she kissed him – well, rather robustly. "If I ask you a question," she asked, "will you give me an honest answer?"

Chuck just nodded between kisses.

"Are you up to receiving your reward from your damsel in distress?" Sarah asked with a grin.

"I'm confused," Chuck said with mock seriousness. "What was last night at the hotel?"

Sarah just continued to grin. "Come on, silly," she said. "That was Bartowski family tradition. Hello… Westbound travel?"

Chuck just grinned back. "I think I could tough it out," he said. "So, Janice just suddenly had this overwhelming urge to keep Kate for one more night."

The blush reached Sarah's face in record time. "Okay," Sarah said as she pulled off her shirt and very gently lifted Chuck's shirt. "I'll confess. The funny part is that Janice thinks that I'm doing her the favor. I just wanted you all to myself for one night."

"It's like old times," Chuck said as he touched his lips to hers. "Just you and me for a whole night – whatever will we do?"

"The question is not what," Sarah whispered as she kissed him again – this time much more firmly. "It's how many times. I was kinda hoping we could start working on Chuck Junior. Kate was telling me yesterday how much she wants a little brother."

Sarah smiled as she saw Chuck's skeptical look. "Actually, it was unspoken," she said sheepishly. "It's the kind of thing that only a mother would understand. So how about it?"

"Stop," Chuck said. But seeing the look on Sarah's face he quickly continued. "Don't worry - just for a second. I just need to say something to you that… Look, I know that I tell you that I love you a lot. But it's more than that. I want to make sure that you understand how much I appreciate you. I just want to thank you."

Sarah could see that Chuck was emotional. "Thank me?" she asked. "Thank me for what?"

Chuck just gestured around the room. "For this," he said. "For everything that's happened. Three years ago, I was working in a Buy More. And now look at us."

"You're a national hero," Sarah said. The pride in her voice was plain. "But why thank me? That was all you."

Chuck just shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. "No way," he said. "Do you think I could have done any of this without you? I still have to pinch myself sometimes that you are actually with me. You're the reason I live. You're the center of my universe."

Sarah's eyes were shinning as they filled with her own tears. How did he always know exactly what she needed to hear? "I know," she said. "And it's like a fairy tale. That's where I always want to be. If I even try and tell you how much I love you, I'm going to start bawling. And I don't think you want that."

Chuck and Sarah just held each other for a long moment. Finally Sarah stirred. "So what's the verdict on this Chuck Junior thing?" she asked with a soft smile. "We're not going to be making a baby just standing here."

Chuck groaned as he fumbled with the clasp to Sarah's slacks. "Does it really have to be Chuck Junior?" he asked.

Sarah smiled as she stepped out of her pants. She kissed him again, this time with her classic movie time move of grabbing two handfuls of his hair. And although she was being far more gentle than she would have normally been, their tongues danced for a long moment. As the kiss finally broke and she pulled him to the bed, she whispered in his ear.

"Only if it's a boy."

x-x-x-x-x


	35. True Love Overcomes Everything

_I still don't own Chuck. Not sure who does at this point. Maybe Subway._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review._

**True Love Overcomes Everything**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was clearly emotional as they checked into the hotel. After all, it was the first time she had been here in twenty-two years – every since her dad surprised her by walking her down the aisle. Of course, they had been to Vegas many, many times since then. But they had always avoided this particular hotel. Chuck knew the bittersweet memory that it represented. It was the last time she saw her dad. It especially hit her when they walked past the banquet room where they celebrated. It was the room where she told him that she was expecting Kate. After all, he had never gotten to see any of his grandchildren.

Everyone said that it was the place where her and Chuck had gotten married – and Sarah had grown weary of correcting them - but she knew. They were already married – had been for two months. Okay, maybe not legally, but what did that matter? No, this is not where they were married – it was the place where the world recognized it. And that was still pretty great.

"Okay, Mom," Kate said as soon as they were in the room and had set their bags down. "Care to tell me now why it was so important to you that we get away for the weekend? You've been positively obsessing about it."

Sarah smiled as she recognized the impatience in Kate. She was truly her daughter. "Of course," she said. "After all, that's the whole point, sweetie. You're going to be leaving home in a few weeks – moving out on your own. I just want to have you all to myself for a day where I can be sure that we won't be interrupted. I need to keep a promise that I made to your dad when you were a baby."

There was something about the look on Sarah's face that caused Kate to get emotional as well. "I wish Dad was here," she whispered.

"So do I," Sarah said with a soft smile.

Kate wiped the tears from her eyes. "My dad is in a better place," she finally was able to get out.

Sarah wrapped her arms around Kate as she fought her own emotion. "First off," she said. "I don't really see fishing with Uncle Casey as a better place. You're making it sound like he's dead. And I know that you always go with them – but is it really so hard to spend some time with me? It's only for today. Your dad and Paul are meeting us tonight for dinner. They'll be here for the rest of the time."

Kate buried her face in Sarah's shoulder. "Come on, Mom," she said. "I'm sorry if I'm hurting your feelings. You know it's not like that at all. I love spending time with you. And I know that we've had this planned for months. I really do appreciate you bringing me to Vegas for my graduation present. It's just that this is the first time they've gone fishing without me since I was three. Who's going to keep Uncle Casey from drowning my boyfriend? You know that Paul's scared to death of him."

Sarah smiled as she recognized the classic Bartowski flair for the dramatic. "I think that Uncle Casey will let Paul live," she said as soothingly as she could. "It would be bad for his wife's senate campaign to drown someone. Besides, Paul survived the senior prom incident, didn't he?"

Kate paused for a moment as she thought about that night. Sure, they could laugh about it now – but at the time… "Barely," she said as she grinned at her mother. "Only because he still had his pants on. And only because Aunt Janice set it up in the first place… Oh, and because he's faster than Uncle Casey. Mom, yesterday's poll has Aunt Janice up thirty two points. It's the biggest lead of any senate race in the country. I really don't think that Paul can depend on Uncle Casey fearing bad publicity. She would win by a landslide anyway. What is this about a promise that you made to Dad?"

Sarah led Kate to the sofa. "I'm going to tell you a story," she said. "You've heard most of this story before – but you were just a baby. It's time that you heard it again – now that you're old enough to understand."

Kate groaned. "Mom," she said cautiously. "This isn't a birds and bees type talk is it? I know it's hard to believe – but I'm twenty-one. Dad already tried that when I was fifteen. I still have nightmares about how embarrassed I was. He was actually more embarrassed than me. And if he really thinks that's what sex is – I feel sorry for you. It's a wonder I was even born."

Sarah laughed. "No," she said. "I think that everyone realized a long time ago that being around Aunt Janice would make that kind of talk moot. This is a different type of story. And, sweetie, I'm not going to tell you every detail – but there are still some things in this story that are classified. Even though this is all twenty years old, sharing it would still be a felony. Technically, telling you is a felony. But you deserve to know. You have to promise not to repeat this to anybody – not even to Paul – and especially not to your brothers. I'll tell them when they turn twenty-one. Do you understand?"

Of course Kate's curiosity was now peaked. She nodded quickly.

Sarah got a sly look on her face. "And, Katie," she said with a grin. "The story does have a fair amount of sex. Some of it might actually shock you. Don't worry - I won't gross you out with any details of what your dad might know about the subject… Suffice it to say that you have absolutely no reason to feel sorry for me. When your dad gets here tonight, you won't be feeling sorry for me two – maybe three times."

This time Kate's groan was accompanied by a very red face. "Mom," she said as she hid her eyes for a moment. Then she quickly tried to change the subject. "Does the story have a title?" she asked.

"Why not," Sarah said. "The title would be _True Love Overcomes Everything_."

"True love," Kate said with a soft smile. "Something tells me this story is all about you and dad."

"Yes, sweetie," Sarah said. "It is. You see, it all started when your dad was still in Stanford."

Kate sat back and tried to get comfortable. This was obviously going to be a long story.

"Your dad had a roommate at Stanford," Sarah said. "Your little brother was actually named in his memory. His name was Bryce Larkin…"

x-x-x-x-x

"Excuse me," Kate said. "We didn't order these."

"Compliments of the gentleman at the table over in the corner," the waitress said.

"Man," Kate said as she turned to see the table full of men waiving. "I wish Dad and Paul would hurry up and get here. These guys are going to be hitting on you all weekend, aren't they?"

"Actually," Sarah said with a grin. "I'm pretty sure it's you that is the main target this time. Don't worry. Our table will be ready soon. Your dad and Paul are going to be here any minute. Besides, we can handle ourselves."

Indeed, Sarah was right. Kate Bartowski had grown into an incredibly beautiful woman – almost an exact image of Sarah at that age. Not that Sarah was any slouch herself. Even pushing fifty, she still turned more than her fair share of heads. It was not uncommon at all for men to mistake them for sisters. And honestly Kate was being a little coy. Although this was the first time someone had sent her a drink in a bar – after all, she had just turned twenty-one - men had been hitting on her for a number of years. Her mom had taught her long ago how to handle herself. And that paled in comparison to what her Aunt Janice had taught her.

"That was quite a story," Kate said with a smile. "Please tell me that you didn't blame me for wanting you to have Chuck Junior. Talk about someone who I wouldn't mind Uncle Casey drowning…"

Sarah sighed as she heard Kate talk about her brother. They both always talked like that. Anybody meeting them together for the first time would quickly come to the conclusion that they couldn't stand each other. But they would be dead wrong. Actually, Kate and Chuck Junior were incredibly close – they would both just rather die than admit it. And the idea of Casey drowning him was particularly silly… Casey and Chuck Junior were as close as Janice and Kate – maybe even closer. And the honest truth was that if Paul had suffered any violence because of the Prom fiasco, it would have been at the hands of Chuck Junior far more than Casey. Fortunately, that was in the past. Now they were best friends.

Kate could tell that her mom didn't like it when she talked about her brother like that – so she changed the subject. "So, tell me…," she said. "What is your spy involvement now?"

"Officially, we're still active," Sarah said. "The information in your dad's head is quite old now. But we're both still certified field agents. They make us go once a year for certification testing. Every once in a while they ask him to look at something. But I think that's mainly to give them an excuse to keep us on the payroll. We did something for them about ten years ago – but it was a special case. And it's so sensitive - I can't tell you any details. We haven't gone on any missions in years. I really don't expect that we ever will again."

Kate smiled. "So," she said, more to herself than to Sarah. "That's why there is a full fitness center and shooting range in our basement. Are there any others like Dad?"

Sarah just shook her head. "They cancelled the project," she said. "They quickly realized that it was too dangerous to have anybody with that much power. The doctors were always concerned about your dad – but they didn't know him. There was never anything to worry about. He never did have any of their stupid side effects."

Kate's smile turned into a wicked grin. "Are there any others like you?" she asked.

"Heavens, yes," Sarah said with a laugh. "There are hundreds of agents that are far superior to me. I'm an old woman. I wouldn't stand a chance against them."

Kate's grin turned skeptical. After all, she had seen her mom work out many, many times. According to Aunt Janice, mom was still in the top third of all female agents in testing. And she had seen her mom angry enough times to know – watch out. She was far more then this pretty blonde housewife. "So," Kate said. "Does Dad still have any of his special… abilities?"

"Some," Sarah said with a grin. "Some are truly amazing. Remember when I said that you didn't have any reason to feel sorry for me?"

"Mom," Kate groaned. "I'm begging you."

"I'm sorry," Sarah said as she grabbed Kate's hand. "I'm just teasing you a little. He can still do some other things too. He can play blackjack and be pretty much guaranteed to win. That's actually how we bought the lake house. If we were threatened, he could probably come up with some fighting skills… but that's never happened. I suppose that, if he really concentrated, he could do stuff like speak a foreign language. All in all, I'd say he's pretty normal."

"You're telling me that Aunt Elise and Uncle Joe used to be spies?" Kate asked. "I would never have guessed that. I used to watch their kids. They run a restaurant. I worked there as a waitress one whole summer."

"I know," Sarah said with a smile. "Do you remember being the flower girl at their wedding? You were adorable. I have never seen anybody make the transition to normal life as smoothly as they did."

"Uncle Joe attacked you," Kate said sadly. "How did you and Dad get over that?"

"Please, sweetie," Sarah said. "I seriously thought about leaving that part of the story out. But I promised that I wouldn't hide anything from you. Please don't hold that against him. He still feels horrible about it after twenty years. And it was clearly all a misunderstanding – one that he has more than made up for. He risked his life to save ours. And he has been such a good husband and friend to Aunt Elise. Your dad and I have forgiven him for that a long, long time ago. We love him. Your dad was his best man."

So Kate just changed the subject. "I've really kissed the president," she asked in amazement.

"He kissed you at Casey and Janice's wedding," Sarah said. "I'm not sure if you kissed back. After all, you were only one. We weren't even going to take you to the wedding. But Janice threw an absolute fit. You know what Janice can be like. She said that there weren't all that many people in the world that she loved and she wanted every one of them at her wedding. The President was there and it's some kind of stupid tradition that politicians kiss babies. You were actually on all the cable news channels for most of a day – until an earthquake in Japan made news and knocked you off. Katie, understand something - Washington is a crazy town. You're going to be living there working on Aunt Janice's senate staff, if she wins. Please tell me that will be the last president that you kiss."

"Mom," Kate said incredulously. "If she wins? Hello - thirty-two point lead – one month to go – it's a lock. Aunt Janice is the new junior senator from California. And why would I be kissing any president?"

"I worked on Secret Service duty for a year," Sarah said with a smile. "Trust me. Presidents are men – until Aunt Janice becomes one, of course."

"So Mom," Kate said as she sipped her drink. "I always thought that your making fun of how wild Aunt Janice was when she was younger was just an exaggeration."

"Well, it wasn't an exaggeration," Sarah said with a groan. "I know that you and Aunt Janice have a special bond – you always have. She is more like your second mom."

Kate could see that Sarah was a little jealous – it had always been a sensitive subject. "I love Aunt Janice," she said as she reached out and grabbed Sarah's hand. "I always will – but I only have one mom."

Sarah smiled as she recognized Kate's gesture. "Aunt Janice loves you too," she said. "And she would never, ever do anything to hurt you. But, oh my goodness, she was wild. Uncle Casey has really settled her down. Sweetie, the stories I could tell you…"

"Like the time in Cleveland," Kate asked with her eyes sparkling, "when she talked you into entering a wet t-shirt contest?"

Sarah's face turned red instantly. "California is going to have a new junior senator," she said. "But it's going to be one that the governor appoints - because I am going to kill your Aunt Janice."

"Don't worry, mom," Kate said. "She told me that story a long time ago. I think it was when I was fifteen. She told it to me to make sure that I understood that there are some decisions that you have to live with for the rest of your life - and that was one that she regretted."

"Nice save," Sarah said with a grin. "I'm still going to kill her."

"Look on the bright side," Kate said. "You won didn't you? I bet you still could."

Kate was gently avenged for the teasing over the 'feeling sorry' thing. Now it was Sarah's turn to get a red face. "I regret the Cleveland thing too," she finally said. "I'm embarrassed. Who wants to tell their daughter that they won a wet t-shirt contest? I'm not sure, to this day, why I let Janice talk me into it. In my defense, I will say that we were on a mission - but I will admit – the contest wasn't really completely necessary. It did help with our covers. It certainly kept the marks interested... You know, for a long time I was hoping Janice would lose this senate thing. I'm really going to miss her when she moves to Washington."

"She also showed me the picture of that Bryce guy," Kate said as she exaggerated fanning herself. "And all I can say is – damn. Dad must have really been jealous."

"Some," Sarah said. "It was a big issue for us in the beginning. But Kate, he had absolutely no reason to be. Bryce was good looking, in a way. I can't deny that. But the truth is your dad had it all over Bryce – in every single way that you can imagine. Once I was able to convince him of that, we realized that being jealous was pointless. He has always been great at dealing with all the flirting nonsense that a female spy has to do. Oh, he still gets annoyed sometimes – like when men send me drinks. And, I'll admit… sometimes I think that's cute. But your dad knows that I would die before I would ever hurt him. Being jealous is a waste of time."

"There was one thing about that story that bothered me," Kate said. "Aunt Janice actually tried to seduce dad? After you were married? Why didn't you strangle her?"

Sarah just laughed. "How did I know," she sighed, "which parts of the story would grab your attention? Kate, I had to realize that my being jealous was just as silly. Your dad would never, ever hurt me. I'll not deny that I get annoyed sometimes when I see a woman looking at him. That's been happening a lot more lately. I'll even admit that I've said something to more than one of them – and your dad probably thinks that's cute too. But the Janice incident actually brought us closer together. And it's exactly like the Joe thing - long ago forgiven and forgotten. That's really not the point of the story – at all."

"I know," Kate said with a sly smile. "I know exactly what you are trying to tell me. But Mom, seriously - do you think that you had to drag me to Vegas to tell me that? I've lived with you and Dad for twenty-one years. Do you think I'm blind?"

Sarah just smiled at her daughter. "Okay, Kate," she said. "You sound like you have it all figured out. You tell me. Why did I tell you that story?"

"Come on, Mom," Kate said. "I think that I know enough to understand. You were a beautiful CIA Agent. From what Aunt Janice tells me, the very best. There is a lot that you haven't told me about it – but you clearly lived an exciting life of traveling around the world, first class hotels, handsome men, and dangerous missions. But you were miserable. Your life was empty. Then, when you least expected it, from out of nowhere, you met your true love – and it changed your life. You started seeing your surroundings for the first time. Together you and your soul mate overcame extreme odds and incredible challenges. And your love allowed you to thrive and grow together even in the face of those ridiculous obstacles - obstacles that would have surely defeated you separately many times over. It was never easy - but the strength of your love always got you through. Not only did it make you genuine heroes - for the first time in your whole life, you were truly happy."

Kate then paused to wipe the tears from her eyes. "And," she continued as her lip started to quiver and her voice broke. "The most important thing – my two best friends – who also happen to be my parents - would like that very same experience for me someday soon."

Sarah was simply stunned. So much so, that she didn't recognize Chuck and Paul had walked up until Chuck grabbed her hand. Noticing the tears that were now running down her cheeks, Chuck reached down to kiss her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Sarah just shook her head and smiled through her tears. "Not really," she said as she looked at Kate. "It's just that I've missed you. Oh, and I'm very proud. We've raised one hell of a young lady."

Chuck reached over and placed his hand gently on Kate's head. "Tell me something that I don't know," he said with a smile. "Now, can we please eat? Paul's starving."

"Chuck," Sarah scolded. "Don't you dare blame Paul. Everyone knows that you're the one who's starving."

"Okay," Chuck sighed. "Yes, Sarah. You're right. I'm starving. Three days of eating nothing but Casey's cooking…" Then he noticed the untouched drinks on the table. "I see that you have made quite an impression on the male patrons of the place," he said with a half smile. "They must think you're thirsty."

Sarah flashed a knowing smile to Kate.

Chuck turned to Kate. "You really missed a trip," he said. "We didn't catch many fish. But your Uncle Casey fell out of the boat. Chuck Junior tried to catch him and they both went in. Uncle Devon got a picture of it. I think it might have been the best fishing trip yet. I'm going to be able to tease him for the next twenty years."

"I'm sorry that I missed it," Kate said laughing. "But I had fun here with Mom. It was… Well, it was life changing."

"That's nice," Chuck said as he grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her to her feet. "I know just what you mean. Your mom has that effect. Did you know that she is the center of the known universe?"

In any other situation… from anybody else… that remark would have been corny beyond belief. From a guy in a bar, it would have gotten a well deserved groan. But Sarah knew that it wasn't corny at all. There was not an ounce of anything fake. It was not a line to butter her up. It was her amazing guy telling her, in his unique way, what she already knew – but never tired of hearing - how very much he loved her. Sarah didn't offer a response – none was necessary. Not with words anyway. But her glow was plain for all to see. Even in a place like Vegas – that was famous for its bright lights – nothing lit up the room like Sarah's smile.

The honest truth was – Sarah didn't have a clue how to describe her feelings for him. It had always been an issue for her. Nothing that she could come up with came close to doing it justice. That's why she always made sure to show him in other ways. Okay, sure – so she enjoyed those other ways too. What was wrong with that? They had been together almost every single day now for twenty-four years. And today after being apart for three days – of which they had talked on the phone a dozen times – Sarah could feel the relief at seeing him again wash over her. She could honestly say that she was looking forward to tomorrow… and next week… and next year… and, last but certainly not least, later tonight in their room… just as much as she ever had.

Kate got up and hugged her boyfriend. After all, she hadn't seen Paul in three days either. They had been together for four years now. And while, they couldn't pretend to approach her parent's bond… who could? They were getting there – and, after all, they still had plenty of time. Maybe tonight would be the time to tell her mom and dad that Paul was moving with her to Washington.

Kate smiled as she grabbed Paul's hand and followed Chuck and Sarah to their table. She couldn't help the soft tears that came to her as she watched with pride the unspoken communication between her best friends. When she was growing up, all Kate's friends told her that they were just acting - that nobody was that much in love. Kate never said anything back to her friends - but she knew… _Like they think that they could hide that chemistry_. "Actually," she said. "I think that I did know that. After dinner, let's hit the casino. What are we going to play first?"

Chuck winked at Sarah. "First," he said with a smirk. "I'm going to teach you how to play blackjack."

Sarah put her head on Chuck's side and snuggled in as he wrapped his arm around her. "That sounds like fun," she said as they continued walking. "But do you think after dinner we could go to the room for a few minutes first? There is something that I need."

"Why?" Chuck asked. "Did you forget something?"

"Something like that," Sarah said with a smile as she winked at her husband. "It's been three days. I just don't think I could enjoy myself all night in the casino knowing that Katie is feeling sorry for me."

Sarah's smile turned into a huge grin as she heard Kate's embarrassed groan.

"Mom, please. You're killing me here."

The End

x-x-x-x-x

_Well, folks, there it is. Eighteen months, five stories, well over a hundred chapters, and half a million words later. I hope that you had as much fun as I did._

_The arc started off with a one shot called The Incentive. It was written just after Santa aired in season two. Negotiation was originally a one shot – but Sarah got pregnant. Imagine that. It was written mostly during the dark days of Beefcake and Cole. Taking One For the Team and Sexy Handler were written in the long off season between seasons 2 and 3. And Dark Intersect was written during the dark days of Shaw – but also when Chuck and Sarah finally got together._

_My main goal in writing the arc was to prove (if to no one but myself) that Chuck and Sarah could be a secure, loving couple and still tell exciting stories. It actually looks as if the show now agrees with me. I'm really looking to them telling exciting stories in the mode of Subway and Ring, Part II without the crushing angst that made parts of season 3 approach unwatchablity._

_I realize that people get invested in stories – just like I get invested in the show. And sometimes emotions run high. Just like I sometimes dislike Chris Fedak for giving us Shaw, I understand that sometimes people disliked me for having a pregnant Sarah appear to seduce another guy. And many of you said so, lol. Even if it didn't always appear like it, I appreciate it when you have allowed yourself to get invested in something that I wrote. I always felt an obligation to you. So while I could never promise that you'd like the story - I did make some promises that I took seriously. If you allowed yourself to become invested in a BillAtWork story I promised –_

_I would never abandon the story and leave you hanging._

_I would never end a story without a happy C/S resolution (that's just me, lol)._

_I would warn you if I was about to get close to any lines of sexual content or character deaths._

_If I ended a chapter on a cliff or in a particularly angsty place, I tried to post the next chapter in a timely manner._

_I am really going to miss my two original characters, Janice and Elise. Some of the most fun that I've had writing was in developing their characters. My favorite chapter in all of my writing is in Sexy Handler when Janice went to seduce Chuck – and he turned the tables on her. Neither character was perfect, far from it. But both were heroes in their own way._

_Janice was the most complex. At times, she was written as basically a female version of Casey. I struggled over putting them together. But at other times she was sort of a tragic figure. Not really knowing how to handle herself with other people._

_Elise was written as basically a female version of Chuck. She always knew that she wasn't cut out to be a spy. But she was willing to throw herself in front of a bullet. So I wanted her story to end with her where she really belonged. Out of the spy life with someone she loved. Joe was invented for Elise._

_And it would be wrong not to thank some very important people._

_**HappyDayz**__ was tireless. She never allowed me to get too dark or stray away from the characters that I had developed. Many of the plot points in these stories were born from our arguing. If we ever agreed on anything, my stories would probably be much shorter, lol. If you ever want to chat about Chuck, consider joining the forum at ChuckTV where she is the moderator._

_**Poa**__ never argued with me. She just pointed out that – well maybe what I had written was odd – and that maybe there was a better way._

_**BrickRoad**__ was probably my first true Chuck friend. She has been there for me every since season 1. I still remember how excited we were waiting for the trailer from ComicCon before season 2. I often tease her about acting like her dad. But the truth is that she is much more often the mature one, lol._

_And, of course, you. All of you who kept me going with reviews, PM's and emails. If you took this entire journey with me or just got on at the last stop – I thank you._

x-x-x-x-x


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